BRS seeks clarity on sand mining revenue

HYDERABAD

The Congress Government in the State is misleading people by releasing false statistics on the revenue from sand mining, official spokesperson of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) M. Krishank has alleged.

The yearly revenue from sand mining in 2013-14 was only ₹39 crore, but within a year it had reached ₹886 crore following reforms introduced by the K. Chandrasekhar Rao Government. In a statement, Mr. Krishank said the BRS Government had kept sand in the reach of all income groups as the rate fixed was ₹645 per tonne.

However, the Congress Government had increased the rate to ₹1,600 per tonne in the name of “sand bazaar” and in addition, the government was also forcing people to bear the transportation charges burden. In addition, the Congress Government had increased the service charges from ₹3 per tonne to ₹100 per tonne.

After doing all that, the revenue from sand mining and sale had not increased proportionately. During the BRS rule, sand mining was allowed only for 12 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., but now it’s being allowed till 9 p.m. and transportation is being allowed round-the-clock.