Public Works Department (PWD) Minister H.C. Mahadevappa said it was high time the people started using Manufactured Sand — known as ‘M-sand’ — which is a better alternative to natural sand.
Speaking to newsmen on the sidelines of a meeting to review the progress of various works taken up by the department in the Belagavi Circle at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here on Monday, he said there was a huge gap in the demand and supply of sand in the State.
Presently, 60 lakh tonnes of M-sand was being manufactured in Karnataka, whereas the demand for sand was between 2,000 to 2,300 lakh tonnes. The government was looking to boost the production of M-sand to at least 1,300 lakh tonnes to meet the supply gap from natural sand. The objective was to bring down the exploitation of natural sand to protect rivers and check depletion of water tables.
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When pointed out that illegal sand mining and transportation was rampant, and sand was sold in “black” at Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 28,000 per truck-load in the district and other parts of the State ever since the new sand policy was implemented, he said in the past there was no accountability on exploitation and looting of natural minerals such as sand. It was the Congress government that evolved the sand policy to monitor and regulate sand extraction to check the well-organised sand mafia, he said.
When asked what prevented the authorities from taking measures at sand extraction sites to fully stop the illegal activity, instead of nabbing the offenders while transporting it, he said the district-level sand monitoring committees headed by the Deputy Commissioner should be monitoring illegal sand extraction and transportation. For the first time, illegal sand extraction had been made a cognisable offence, which could even invite action under Goonda Act, he pointed out.