Following the announcement of the free sand policy by the State government, hundreds of trucks, tractors and other vehicles have been loading tonnes of sand every day from the three key stockyards in Nellore district. Over 1.75 lakh tonnes of sand was available in Marripadu, Pallipadu and Minagallu stockyards.
According to district Mining Department officials, over 8,000 tonnes of sand had been dumped by JP Ventures in Pallipadu stockyard during the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government. However, with continuous loading in the past four days, sand was out of stock in Pallipadu by Sunday evening.
Vehicles stranded
More than 2,000 vehicles have loaded sand from Pallipadu alone, and due to some technical issue, the UPI scanners did not work for payment on Sunday and many vehicles were stranded at this stockyard. There were also similar technical problems in UPI scanning at the Minagallu and Marripadu stockyards.
M. Penchalaiah, a villager of Butchireddipalem, alleged that there was no technical glitch but the ruling party leaders influenced the officials in loading their people’s vehicles first. “The mining authorities were only for namesake. The stockyards were under the supervision of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) cadre,” he said.
Despite the government guidelines for effective implementation of the sand policy in place, locals complained about illegal transportation of sand to neighbouring states from the district. “Although the TDP government has announced that sand will be provided free of cost in the State, it is charging ₹3,500 per tractor today. It is deceiving people by partially filling the tractor,” alleged YSRCP district president Parvatha Reddy Chandrasekhar Reddy in a press meet.
At present, the locals are paying ₹370 per tonne for dry sand and ₹88 per tonne for wet sand. Few villagers also feel that the Penna River may get exploited for sand if the sand is being transported illegally to other states and eventually runs from the stock points.
Official rebuts claim
Refuting the villagers’ allegations, Nellore Mines & Geology Deputy Director A. Srinivasa Rao said that out of the total 1.75 lakh tonnes in three stock points, nearly 30,000 tonnes of sand had already been sold till now. Only the sand at Pallipadu stockyard was exhausted in the district, he said.
“Out of 1.25 lakh tonnes of sand in Marripadu and 41,000 tonnes in Minagallu stockyards, 10,000 tonnes of sand has gone out from each stock point respectively in the last four days. Close to 1.45 lakh tonnes of sand is still available in these two stockyards of the district,” Mr. Srinivasa Rao said.
Speaking about illegal transportation, he said: “No such case has been reported in the district. There is a penalty of ₹10,000 per tractor, ₹25,000 per truck and ₹50,000 per big truck if found with unauthorised sand load for the first time, the penalties would be doubled for second time and criminal cases filed for the third time.”
Published – July 16, 2024 07:09 pm IST