Greater Vijayawada Builders’ Association (GVBA) has expressed concern over sand scarcity hitting the construction industry at a time when global attention was riveted on how Andhra Pradesh was going to cope with the consequences of bifurcation.
Unless the government took corrective action at the earliest, construction activity will suffer a major setback, GVBA founder chairman G. Raja Ling and working chairman A. Nagamalleswara Rao said. Speaking to the media here on Friday, Mr. Raja Ling said according to the government’s policy, sand would cost Rs. 750 to Rs. 850 per ton depending on the distance of the sites from where it was extracted, but in reality it was being sold at prices ranging from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 1,800 per ton.
Mining cess of Rs. 586 per cubic metre, Rs. 2,000 towards loading and Rs. 750 for handling charges have to be paid along with transportation charges at E-Seva centres and receipts handed over to the Revenue Department. Builders then have to wait for their turn for sand allotment. It is an indefinite period during which black-marketers mint money by selling sand at exorbitant prices.
To tackle the problem, GVBA has set up a committee comprising representatives of Institution of Engineers, Andhra Chamber of Commerce and Industries’ Federation, Vijayawada Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and other stakeholders. The panel will be in touch with officials and will do its best for solving the problem, he said.