With the shortage of river sand persisting across the State, the Public Works Department (PWD) has issued a circular instructing its officials to use manufactured sand or crushed stone sand in government projects as an alternative to river sand.
As only limited sand loads are being supplied through online booking from 17 quarries across the State, the PWD has instructed its officials to use M-Sand in government construction projects if they encounter shortage of river sand. However, the quality of the M-sand needs to be checked, it said.
Officials of the PWD said that crushed stone sand (CS-Sand), which is a fine substance produced by crushing hard stone, is known as M-Sand in the market. Pointing out that there was a reluctance among government officials and private builders towards using M-Sand for construction purposes, officials said M-Sand was often not preferred due to its quality being affected by the mixing of quarry dust with it.
Though circulars were issued in 2012 about the use of M-Sand for construction, the circular issued on Wednesday provides elaborate instructions to identify M-Sand of good quality and also on the manufacturing process adhering to BIS standards. The tests to check the quality of M-Sand include simple field tests to check the presence of quarry dust and also laboratory tests and the inspection of the production unit.
Officials said the circular was issued to encourage use of M-Sand and also classify M-Sand from quarry dust. “M-Sand is cheaper than river sand and more M-Sand quarries are available across the State. There is a delay in opening more quarries due to the resistance of residents in many places. As it is affecting construction activity, it was decided to create more awareness about the use of M-Sand in both public and private projects,” an official said. However, sand lorry operators and builders said the production of M-Sand needs to be increased to ensure availability.
S. Yuvaraj, president, Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners’ Federation, said that only 50 M-Sand quarries were being operated across the State. “We have to wait for four days to even source M-Sand.
Quality monitoring
At present, river sand is priced at ₹100 per cubic feet and M-sand costs ₹50-60 per cubic feet. More quarries must be opened to bring down the price,” he said.
Pointing out that M-Sand of good quality provides strength for concrete, S. Ayyanathan, State secretary, Builders Association of India, Tamil Nadu, said that unless the government creates a quality monitoring mechanism, M-Sand cannot completely replace river sand.
