Members of the Hassan Zilla Panchayat, irrespective of their party affiliations, came down heavily on the district administration on Friday for the alleged non-availability of sand for construction activities in the district. They criticised the online system proposed to be introduced for allotting sand by stating that people in villages looking for sand either to build a house under the Ashraya scheme or a toilet were finding it difficult to get sand.
Janata Dal (Secular) member Deve Gowda, who raised the issue, said common people were facing difficulty in getting sand, while those indulging in the extraction of sand were earning money by transporting sand to Bengaluru. “Why the district administration has not been able to make the sand easily available to the public?” he questioned.
E. Lakshman and Amit Shetty of the BJP, Swamy Gowda and Nanjundaswamy of the Janata Dal (S) and Rangaswamy of the Congress and others too joined the debate. Mr. Swamy Gowda alleged that the officials of the Public Works Department were loading trucks till late in the evening, illegally. The officials were demanding several documents to allot sand to common people, while truck-owners were transporting loads of sand to big cities and earning thousands of rupees.
The zilla panchayat members urged the district administration to put in place a system, wherein all those who required sand could apply for it and get it after paying a fixed fee. The officials should fix a rate for transportation so that truck-owners would not be able to loot the poor public. The zilla panchayat members asked the officials to ensure that no government work was delayed for want of sand. R. Krishnamurthy, Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department, said the supply of sand was not commensurate with the demand as there was a delay in getting environment clearance for extraction of sand. “Now, we have got clearance for extraction in 43 blocks. Sand will be available within a few days. We have introduced an online system for the public to apply for sand and get it allotted without any hassles,” he said.
