AP mulls ordinance to end sand woes: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy

Amaravati: The AP government proposes to bring in an ordinance to regulate mining and transportation of sand and to curb all kinds of malpractices by the sand mafia. This was indicated by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy during a review meeting here on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister said the Ordinance will specify the land fixation giving powers to the District Collectors and officials concerned at constituency level. A toll-free number would be set up where any complaints on the irregularities in the sale of sand could be made and they would be attended to within a specified timeframe.

The government will also take steps to strengthen the vigilance wing to check smuggling of sand. Sources said, CCTV cameras would be set up at all the reaches. The Chief Minister reportedly told the officials to find out the ground situation at the next Spandana meeting.

Officials said 83 of the 275 sand reaches were active. The supply was increased from 41,000 tonnes to 69,000 tonnes per day as the number of reaches increased from 61 to 83. If the weather improves, in the next 15 days, supply can go up by two to three lakh tonnes per day.