River sand has become costlier now owing to a shortage in supply. It costs around ₹35,000 per lorry load which is 34 times higher than the selling rate of government at the quarry point.
“Over 90% construction activities came to grinding halt across the State. There is a historic shortage of sand prevailing in the State. Many large and small players are not able to complete their projects on time. Buyers are asking the builders to complete works on time. We have been struggling too much in the last four months. Even government contractors too are facing undue pressure from officials to complete the projects within the time-frame,” said R.Venkatesan, chairman, Builders’ Association of India.
Admitting that the current problem is certainly affecting the construction of ongoing projects, Surendra Hiranandani, a leading builder said, “We urge the State government to look into the problem and address the same. Many small-scale developers have stopped projects temporarily because of it. The sand is currently coming only from Tiruchi. The other quarries are not in operation officially.”
“Developers are shifting to manufactured sand (M-sand) to cope with the shortage. But its usage is limited to concrete works and block works. Generally for plaster work only river sand is preferred,” added Mr. Hiranandani.
As many as 95 sand quarries were functioning in three regions — Chennai, Tiruchi and Madurai in 2003. Now the number has come down and only 14 quarries were functioning until last March. Controversy over the usage of machinery and legal wrangles led the closure of nine quarries. The remaining five also closed on April 27. On May 5, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced that things would improve in 10 days as the government had identified 40 new sites for quarrying and planned to supply to the lorries directly. But till today the situation has not improved.
Sand lorry owners said over 4,500 to 5,000 lorries are waiting at Villupuram and Tirukovilur for supply of sand. Similarly, 3,500 to 4,000 lorries are stationed at Lalgudi, Nathamangudi and Kondaiyampettai in Tiruchi district. The quarry at Mayanur, Karur district was closed due to clash between locals and outsiders.
‘Over 25 lakhs afftected’
R.Panneerselvam, Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners’ Federation, said the supply of sand at the quarries were not regulated. The shortage of sand supply led to the loss of jobs for lorry and construction workers. Though we have pointed out the hardships faced by workers to departments concerned, there was no response so far and over 25 lakh workers were affected due to the government’s attitude. The dreams of several people to build homes were shattered, he said.
The government determined price is about ₹1,050 for two units of sand. But any buyer has to spend 34 times higher than this amount in the city or anywhere else in the State. As for the reason for the hike in price, Mr. Paneerselvam said, “Almost it took 15 days to bring a lorry load of sand from a quarry to the city. We have to spend on temples in the villages where our lorries are crossing and incur other expenses including mamool. Above all, ₹10,000 should be given as salary to driver for 15 days even though there is no work and we have to spend ₹8000 for fuel.” Across the State over 45,000 sand lorries were being operated per day in normal times. Now two thirds of them are idle.
As the government has not identified any new site for quarrying , police officials are not effectively imposing Goondas Act against the violators who smuggle several loads of sands illegally. According to Federation members, they are incurring a huge huge loss at the storage point. In Namakkal and Karur districts, loads of sand are being smuggled in national permit vehicles to Kerala and Karnataka. Deputy Inspector General of Police, Salem, formed a special squad recently and impounded 180 lorries laden with sand besides invoking Goondas act against 40 persons. There is substantial loss to the government as it failed to prevent smuggling of sand.
Sand mixed with silicon is being quarried from Vakkadu, Suruttaipalli and Naidupet in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Such materials are supplied to the areas on the outskirts of Chennai. An official of Public Works Department said, “We have identified new sites for quarrying sand on the river bed of Cauvery and proposal was sent to the government for approval. Once those quarries are opened, the shortage will end.”
