East Godavari is a major sand supplier to cater for the needs of the state with more than 45 per cent of supply with nine open reaches and seven desiltation reaches.
Sand availability will sharply go up by the end of March to more than 60 lakh tonnes as more reaches in East Godavari district and Dr B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district will be opened soon.
KAKINADA: Sand availability will sharply go up by the end of March to more than 60 lakh tonnes as more reaches in East Godavari district and Dr B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district will be opened soon. At present, East Godavari is a major sand supplier to cater for the needs of the state with more than 45 per cent of supply with nine open reaches and seven desiltation reaches. The East Godavari district administration will open 10 more desiltation reaches soon.
“Now, 10 to 13 major sand reaches will be opened and public hearing will be held for these reaches from February 10 to 13. After completion of public hearing, it will be sent for environment clearances. These major sand reaches would be opened by the end of March 2025,’’ said, D. Phani Bhushan Reddy.
He said that East Godavari district used to supply 24,000 tonnes of sand per day until a month back. But now, the sand supply is being reduced to 15,000 tonnes per day due to opening of some of the reaches in Konaseema district. He said that at present the sand is available at Rs 229 per tonne at desiltation reaches and Rs 67 to Rs 117 per tonne in open reaches excluding transport cost. He said that East Godavari may increase its sand supply to 57 lakh tonnes by the end of March.
Meanwhile, according to Konaseema district officials, at present, 8,000 tonnes of sand is supplied per day which will be increased in coming days. According to sources, East Godavari district got pressure from other places before non-opening of sand reaches in Konaseema. Now, the pressure on East Godavari district has come down due to opening of sand reaches in Konaseema.
Dr Ambedkar Konaseema district collector R. Mahesh Kumar instructed officials to identify the ew sand reaches in Vashishta Gowthami river with coordinated efforts of the departments concerned.
He also said that sand permits will be given to Patta lands and the officials should inspect it thoroughly before giving permissions. He said that the sand permissions can’t be given under CRZ limit areas. In Kapileswaram mandal, six permissions have been given out of 7 and one application has been rejected due to CRZ laws.
One permission only has been given in P. Gannavaram mandal as five applications have been rejected due to CRZ laws. He said that seven locations have been identified in Gowthami river area and he instructed the mining officials to send the proposals to Ground Water Department officials and environmental officials for the further permissions for sand mining. He said that all permissions should be obtained during this summer. If they get permission in the rainy season, it will be no use for the sand consumers.
Meanwhile, the Civil Engineer and CREDAI member G. Satyanarayana of Kakinada said that the sand price cost has been reduced to 13,000 per six units against Rs 24,000 in December, 2024. He stressed the need for reducing the cost of the sand for some extent to reduce the cost of the construction cost.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
Next Story