Report suggests legalising sand transport from Tamil Nadu, Andhra

The Bengaluru Urban district administration has favoured transporting sand from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to Bengaluru by issuing special permits and collecting a royalty.

In a report, which will be sent to the State government shortly, the district administration has said there is a potential to generate a revenue of at least Rs 400 crore a year by legalising transportation of sand from neighbouring states.

Bengaluru deputy commissioner V Shankar said, “We are losing huge revenues by not legalising transportation of sand from other states. On an average, we can generate at least Rs 1 crore a day. Regularising will help the growth of construction industry.”

The officer said that on an average, at least 2,000 truckloads of sand comes from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. A majority of sand comes from Tamil Nadu, as the quality is superior.

“From Attibele itself, we estimate that 1,500 trucks of sand come to Bengaluru everyday whereas from other areas, the City receives about 2,000 truckloads of sand illegally.”

Another revenue officer said that at present, a few officers are getting richer by collecting a very trivial amount from these trucks. If legalised, at least Rs 400 crore can be generated annually, he added.

Three days ago, the district authorities had raided and closed down 40 illegal filter sand facilities across the district. They also seized more than 500 trucks. Besides these illegal sand mining facilities, the authorities also seized sand trucks coming from Tamil Nadu. As a result, a major sand crisis is lurking the City.

Sources said sand suppliers and builders recently called on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah fearing loss to their business and sought remedies. The alternative suggested by sand suppliers was in consonance with the district authorities’ proposal.