Accusing the TDP of making baseless allegations on the sand tenders issue, Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy said on Thursday that it was the TDP government that had encouraged the sand mafia in the name of free sand policy.
Addressing the media, Mr. Ramachandra Reddy said the new sand policy would not give any scope for illegal transportation and black-marketing.
The A.P. Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) was entrusted with the task of sand mining and supply.
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Multiple issues had been reported during the implementation of the policy, and a Cabinet sub-committee was constituted to formulate and take corrective action. The committee had submitted its report and the same was put in the public domain.
Central agency
The Minister said that the task of selecting the contractor had been entrusted to MSTC, a Central government agency. The State government had also decided to collect ₹120 crore as bid security for the participation of skilled and experienced companies, and tenders were invited on line.
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The MSTC had selected Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited (Jaypee), and the target was to supply two crore tonnes of sand.
Mr. Ramachandra Reddy further said that since the price was capped at ₹475 per tonne, the total value of the contract was not more than ₹950 crore, out of which the company should pay ₹765 crore to the government.
He questioned the rationale behind the TDP leaders’ charge that the tenders were fraught with corruption amounting to thousands of crores of rupees.