Excise Minister Kollu Ravindra announced that 108 new sand reaches will be opened in the state from 16th of this month. In view of the rise in the rivers, 40 sand reaches will be brought into use in the first phase. He lamented that the availability of sand is complicated due to the mistakes of the previous government.
Ridiculing former chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s criticism about the present government’s sand policy, the minister said that it looks like devils preaching Vedas. He revealed that the sand in the patta lands will also be made available. He said that the sand in the patta lands can be obtained at the price fixed by the district committees.
If there are new sand reaches in riverside areas, he said they will give recognition. Ravindra also revealed that the cabinet will discuss and take a decision on the new sand reaches. He clarified that a free sand policy will be introduced in the entire state in 1-2 months.
The minister warned that strict action will be taken if sand is sold in violation of the rules. He reminded us that 40 vehicles that have already violated the rules have been impounded. He said that applications for sand can be made online and offline and sand can be obtained from sand reaches by tractors. The minister said that a policy on robot sand will be formulated soon.
Ravindra said that after the coming of the coalition government, all the sand reserves have been taken under the control of the government. He said that by the time the government comes, there is 35 lakh tonnes of sand available in the state. So far 30 lakh tons of sand has been provided to the users. At present only sand mining, extraction, ramp construction and scenery tax are being collected, he added.
Similarly, the minister said that the income from liquor stores is estimated at Rs.30,000 crores, which would be upto 15 percent above of the revenue generated by the previous government. However, accusing that the previous government corrupted the liquor policy, he said they have been trying to bring transparency into the system. Moreover, he said they are particular about providing quality liquor at a low price.