Andhra Pradesh Government plans to deliver sand at door steps

The Andhra Pradesh Government announced that it will deliver sand at customers’ door steps. As a pilot project, the government is to begin the initiative on experimental basis.

Highlights

Under the new initiative, the government will collect transportation charges from the customers and deliver sand at door steps. In order to make the initiative successful, the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation will stock 15 lakh tons of sand per month for the next four months. At present, the demand for sand in the state is 80,000 tonnes a day. The step will help address issues of sand scarcity and sand mafia.

Legislation of sand mining

Section 23C of the MMDR act, 1957 provides rules to prevent illegal mining of sand. According to the rules, the state governments are empowered to frame rules in order to prevent illegal mining, storage and transportation of sand.

MMDR act, 1957

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) act, 1957 provides complete legislation to mines and minerals. It includes minor minerals such as gravel, clay, building stones and sand as well.

The act was amended in 2105. The amendment was made in order to bring transparency in allocation of mines and license process. In 2014, Supreme Court cancelled license of 26 mines in the state Odisha, following which the amendment was made.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2020