2 years imprisonment for people committing irregularities in sand supply, warns Collector

Visakhapatnam Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad on Sunday said that the district administration is making all possible efforts to implement the free sand policy in the district in a transparent manner. He warned that anyone who commits irregularities in the supply of sand will be punished with a maximum of two years imprisonment and a fine.

He held a review meeting with the task force committee on sand supply in his chamber.

The committee members were instructed to strictly implement the sand policy of the State government and monitor the supply of sand from the sand storage centres set up at different places in the district. They were asked to ensure that irregularities do not occur in the supply of sand as the Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu was very particular about the sand supply policy. He directed them to pay special attention to night-time supply and act tough on irregularities.

The committee members informed to the Collector that the online sand booking had started in all Sachivalayam offices from September 20. Until Sunday, a total of 442 bookings have been made and 7,000 tonnes of sand has been provided for 357 bookings as per the policy.

He was also informed that a total of 103 bulk orders were placed, but sand was not supplied due to technical reasons. They promised to deliver the sand in two to three days.

The Collector clarified that the government was not charging the price of sand from the customer, except for transportation and handling charges. Buyers could book the slot for supply of the sand with registration by using their Aadhar number.

The Collector also informed to the public that a toll-free number 0891-2590100 has been made available to inform people about any problems related to sand policy and supply. He said that the district administration was procuring 3,000 tonnes of sand from the neighbouring districts to meet the demand in the district.

Officials of Revenue, Police, Mines and Geology, and Panchayat Raj departments participated in the meeting.

Published - October 06, 2024 11:27 pm IST