Free Sand Scheme to Be Revived in AP to Boost Construction Sector

Vijayawada: In a significant move, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has announced the continuation of the Free Sand Scheme that he had implemented five years ago during the last Telugu Desam government.

A decision has been made to resume the free sand distribution, and the process will be set in motion in the next 10 to 15 days.

The Chief Minister directed state mines minister Kollu Ravindra to ensure smooth implementation of the scheme. The minister said on Wednesday that the free sand policy would be reintroduced in the next three months and sand made available to all.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Ravindra said the government was determined to restore the construction sector by implementing the free sand policy and provide large-scale employment to all the workers who depended on that sector.

He said it was not possible to excavate sand from the reaches before September due to the rainy season. “Within the next 10 to 15 days, official and unofficial sand stock points will be identified in the state and the sand available in them will be distributed free of cost to the people.”

About a million tonnes of sand would be required for the next three months. The charges of vehicles transporting sand from the stock points would also be controlled so that sand can be transported at minimum charges, instead of black marketing of sand,” he said.

Minister Ravindra said the entire construction sector in the state has been affected and the workers of 40 sectors who depended on that sector have been hit by the “faulty” sand policy followed by the previous government. “Crores of workers have lost so much due to the previous government’s steps to generate income by selling sand to private agencies.”

The minister said steps would be taken to resolve the technical problems in retaining the sand policy adopted by the previous government.