Sand depots to regulate sand supply in Visakhapatnam

The State Government of Andhra Pradesh has chalked out a new policy to ensure transparency in sand supply, for the construction of houses, across the state. On Sunday, the Visakhapatnam District Collector V Vinay Chand (IAS) officially announced the action plan of this policy. Two sand depots were proposed to be installed in Visakhapatnam. On Friday (16 August), a sand depot was inaugurated at Mudasarlova, while another depot is yet to be stationed at Vadlapudi.  

Reportedly, the District Collector will closely monitor the sand supply within the district. The announcement suggested that the Joint Collector L Siva Sankar acts as the nodal officer and those officials appointed under him Joint Collector will keep a check on the sand sourced from the reaches in Srikakulam district. The duties of these officials also include installing the vehicles, allotted for the sand supply, with a Global Positioning System (GPS).

As per the action plan, officials from the revenue and mining departments will estimate the sand required by each customer. This process will be initiated only after the customer submits the request along with the corresponding building plan. The customers can purchase sand from the depots from 6 AM to 6 PM.

AP Tourism Minister, Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, had earlier hinted at the Mudasarlova sand depot inauguration, that the State Government was planning to bring new policy on sand supply. The Minister said that move is aimed at eradicating illegal mining and ensure supply of sand at a reasonable price.