Chief Minister Revanth Reddy warned that sand mining and the illegal transportation of sand should be stopped immediately. The CM set a 48-hour deadline for all officials to end illegal sand mining and sand sales.
The CM ordered Vigilance and ACB teams to go into action after two days and to carry out inspections in all districts. The CM said a new sand policy must be framed in accordance with public needs and that it must generate revenue for the government. Officials were asked to study the sand policies in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other states.
Revanth said that the current sand policy in the state has become a source of corruption.
Based on data recorded at toll gates on all routes, officials will prepare a report on the illegal transportation of sand. The CM said that all existing sand reaches would be checked.
The CM lost his cool when officials said that CCTV cameras have been installed at all sand reaches. The CM told the officials that when he visited the Tanugula sand quarry in the Maneru River during his Jammikunta Padayatra in Karimnagar in March 2023 he found no CCTVs there.
The Chief Minister said that surprise checks were conducted in Nizamabad and Warangal by the transport department on February 3 and 83 sand trucks were searched. 22 of them were unauthorised. Four to five trucks were found transporting sand with the same permit and the same number. The inspection revealed 25 per cent of the sand is being moved illegally.
The CM ordered the seizure of all stone crushers operating without permission around Hyderabad. The CM asked officials to create awareness among people not to store gravel and building materials by the sides of roads.
The CM directed the Mineral Resources Department to collect taxes as per rules if excavations are carried out underground at a depth of more than six meters.
He suggested geo-tagging and GPRS to prevent illegal granite and mineral smuggling.
