Times of
India: Chennai: Sunday, October 06, 2019
The
Tamil Nadu State Sand Lorry Owners Federation has questioned the rationale
behind the state government selling M-sand at higher rates than that of
neighbouring states and sought transparency in the operations. Federation
president S Yuvaraj also alleged of rampant corruption in lease given out to
blue metal crushers to break mountains for quarrying in Kancheepuram district
and hinted at protest by the association during the coming summit between Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President XI Jinping in Mamallapuram to
highlight the issue.
“We
have earlier highlighted the issue of bill forging by certain crushers. We have
sought details of the lease awarded under the RTI Act. I have evidence of top
government employees being partners in some of these crushers. If the Central
government gives security, I am ready to provide proof,” said S Yuvaraj. They
have also petitioned Kancheepuram district authorities on the issue, Yuvaraj
said.
The
lorry owners said since the government is involved in distribution of M-sand,
it should be available at subsidised rates, but it is not the case here.
The
state government, the federation said, is selling Malaysian sand at Rs 2,300 a
tonne. However, the same sand brought in from Mangaluru port, which is farther
from Malaysia than Chennai, is sold at Rs 1,650 a tonne and at Andhra Pradesh’s
Krishnapatnam port, on the outskirts of Chennai, it is available at Rs 1,500 a
tonne, according to them.
The
lorry owners stated that the public works department (PWD) should make the data
on the sale of M-sand, public. For two years, M-sand has not been provided to
southern districts such as Madurai, Tiruneveli, the federation stated and said
the government should allow private players to sell M-sand to bring down
prices. Many construction projects in the state have been affected because of
such practices by the state.
“We
have attempted to meet the chief minister thrice in the last eight months. But
the he has been refusing to meet us,” federation members stated.
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