Sand is being mined in Andhra Pradesh in a transparent manner, says Minister of Mines Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy.
Brushing aside the criticism on the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government’s sand policy by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Minister told the media at the Secretariat here on August 31 that the government had entrusted the activity to only one company, the Jayaprakash Power Ventures.
The company had in turn given sub-contracts to many others, the Minister said, adding that the JP Ventures was the only authorised company as far as sand mining was concerned, for which it pays money to the government.
‘Mining illegal during TDP term’
During the TDP term between 2014 and 2019, its MLAs, Ministers and other public representatives had resorted to illegal mining, forcing the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to impose a penalty of ₹100 crore on the government, Mr. Ramachandra Reddy alleged.
The TDP government had issued 19 G.O.s on sand mining during its term, but the YSRCP government had been ensuring transparency in the entire activity, right from calling tenders, he said.
Stating that there was a toll-free number to enable the people to lodge complaints, if any, the Minister said that so far the government had registered more than 18,000 cases. “The government is earning more than ₹750 crore per annum on sand. In contrast, there is no revenue from sand during the TDP term,” Mr. Ramachandra Reddy said.
Stock in State
“There are 136 stock points and 6.8 crore tonnes of sand in the State. There are 110 open reaches. The government has given permission to excavate 77 lakh tonnes of sand. These apart, there are 42 desilting areas, from where 90 lakh tonnes of sand can be mined,” the Minister said.
The revenue earned by the Mining Department had increased to ₹4,756 crore in 2022-23 from ₹1,950 crore during 2018-19, he said. The revenue earned by the A.P. Mineral Development Corporation also increased to ₹1,806 crore in 2022-23 from ₹833 crore in 2018-19, he added.
Director of Mines and Geology V.G. Venkata Reddy was present.
