Andhra Pradesh government fix prices for excavation and transportation of sand

The Andhra Pradesh government headed by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has issued key orders regarding sand giving clarity over excavations and transport regulations. The Department of Mines has issued directives setting base rates for sand excavation, loading, transportation and door delivery. For open excavations, sand excavation on graduate lands is fixed at Rs. 90 per ton while sand loading by JCB has been fixed at Rs. 25 per ton and for transport Rs. 4.90 charged per km.

Transport of sand from these two Godavari districts to Visakhapatnam will be charged at Rs. 3.30 per ton including GST. For door delivery Rs. 10 charged for transportation of sand through tractor within 10 km radius and Rs. 8 for transportation by lorry. These charges are applied up to a distance of 40 km. If the distance exceeds 40 km, an additional price of Rs.4.90 per ton is charged. The Andhra Pradesh government has made suggestions to the AP Mineral Development Corporation on the new prices.

The Andhra Pradesh government has brought nee sand policy where the sand is sold by Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) to ensure transparency. However, as it has been difficult for rural people where there is no high speed internet to book the sand, the government has decided to involve village and ward secretariats in booking of sand. The customers now can avail the help of the village secretariats to book the land.