Vijayawada: The department of mines has denied the allegations of illegal sand mining operation in Andhra Pradesh and claimed that sand mining operations are done only under authorised reaches.
State mines director V.G. Venkata Reddy clarified on Thursday that the old operator would continue to mine sand until a new contractor is decided through the tender process. A few people involved in the sand mining operations used the CMO’s name to spread falsehood, he said.
Venkata Reddy stated, “We have conducted tenders for sand in three packages across the state. JP company was selected as the successful bidder. Sand operations have been done for the last two years and they continue the operations till fresh tenders are called. We are once again conducting the process of tenders for sand operations through the central government organisation MSTC, and this process has not been completed yet.”
“To put matters in perspective, during the rainy season sand operations are stopped and what the company mined during the summer would be stored for sale. But a few media entities continue to publish distorted information by claiming that some outsiders are carrying out sand mining allegedly with permission from the CMO,” he said.
The director said, “In the past, the sand mafia filled its pockets on a large scale in the name of a free sand policy. Under the leadership of CM Jagan, the government introduced a fresh sand policy in a very transparent manner. Sand is being provided to the people at an affordable price and there is no shortage even during the rainy season.”
Venkata Reddy stated, “Sand tenders are being conducted by MSTC, a central government entity, recognized as Miniratna, without any scope for criticism.
Anyone can participate in these tenders. Then why would some media units write stories based on assumptions and claim that ‘sand mining is going on under the leadership of Pulivendula leader brothers.”
“If they do not stop publishing such false articles, we will take legal action against the media,” the mine's director warned.
