AP Builders Struggle With The Shifting ‘Sands’ Of Jagan’s Policy

The YCP government’s sand policy has been causing anguish to the stakeholders in the construction sector. The builders lament that the frequent changes in the policy have been posing hurdles to their business.

They said that the latest change in the AP sand policy wherein online booking and door delivery have been scrapped would pose further problems not only to them but also to individual customers as each and every customer might not be in proximity with the sand reaches to examine and then order the product.

Meanwhile, the YCP government said that the change was done only to allow the consumer make a choice and also be transparent in providing quality services.

On the other hand, the TDP is criticising the YCP for giving consent solely to Jayaprakash Power Ventures to excavate and supply sand to the public in entire Andhra Pradesh. TDP spokesperson Pattabhi fumed at the ruling party for allegedly handing over the sand tenders to Jagan’s benami, Jayaprakash Powers.

The TDP said that it was surprising to know why the YCP government agreed to award tenders to a company which excavated much less than the quantity required in the state in a year.

Pattabhi also asked whom was AP governement Chief Secretary Gopala Krishna Dwivedi trying to fool by saying that Jayaprakash Powers was a profitable company even while it was having debts worth Rs 3,500 crore on it.

‘Invest heavily for peanuts’

The TDP leader wondered why would Jayaprakash Powers buy 100 lorries and 100 JCBs as per the norms fixed by the government and stand to gain only Rs 56 crore per month. Having invested heavily and also paying upfront to the YCP government, would Jayaprakash Powers take home only Rs 50 crore per month, he asked. The TDP also faulted the government for increasing the cost of a tonne of sand by Rs 100 and making it Rs 475 against the Rs 375 earlier and on the top of it, claiming that the whole procedure of tendering was transparent even while everything seems fabricated.

Are you trying to justify the looting which you are committing by saying that a Cabinet sub-committee which prepared the draft of the latest sand policy was made public and that it had evoked 589 comments of which 485 were in favour of the government, he questioned. When did you make the draft public? Is it a fake draft prepared just like the GN Rao Committee and Boston Committee on the Amaravati issue, he questioned.

Will any individual give a green signal to give all the sand reaches in the state to a private company, he wondered.

The TDP leader also reminded that the same Dwivedi said that 2 lakh metric tonne of sand had drifted off into the air when the opposition parties questioned him about the difference in the figures shown by the government and amount sold in reality. Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy knows where had the sand gone, Pattabhi pointed out.

On one hand, the government claims that 2 crore metric tonne sand needs to be excavated per year in the state and on the other, it says that Jayaprakash Power Ventures has experience of extracting a total of 9 lakh metric tonnes of sand. The norms laid down by the state government say that tenders would be given to such organisation which has experience of excavating 9 lakh metric tonne of either sand or any other mineral. Does it not sound absurd to hear that the rules prescribe experience in excavation of less amount of mineral than the minimum quantity of sand required per year, Pattabhi questioned. Generally, a minimum experience of double the amount required is set as a norm for a company to secure the bid, he added.

In response, Gopalakrishna Dwivedi tried to justify the state government saying that the Metal Scrap Trade Corporation (MSTC) was entrusted the task of finalising tenders for excavation of sand, in accordance with the rules framed by the state government. MSTC is known as a neutral central government agency for handling the tendering procedures efficiently, he said, adding that Jayaprakash Power Ventures was finalised by the same organisation.

The guidelines fixed by the state government for the companies that can be finalised included the aspects like network and turnover of the company, past experience in mining, bid security, etc.

Online sand booking

Soon after assuming power, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy scrapped the then existing free sand policy implemented by the TDP and said that a new one would replace it, which to led unprecedented shortage in the supply of sand. The YCP leaders charged the TDP government with resorting to illegal sale and supply of sand.

After more than 8 months of dilly-dallying in the name of framing the new sand policy, the YCP government introduced the online sand booking, claiming that it would be fair and transparent.

Even as people were trying to get used to the new system, the government made it mandatory that booking needs to be done only by specified government institutions. The transition from one system to the other and the void in between made the lives of daily wage workers depending on the construction sector pathetic.

The builders also faced trouble in ensuring seamless sand supply and the construction sector, along with the allied units, took a beating.

The situation worsened with the outbreak of Coronavirus, devastating the lives of guest workers too.

In the past, Jagan Mohan Reddy slammed the TDP government for allegedly resorting to heavy corruption in sand supply. It was also said that the TDP suffered a humiliating defeat in the 2019 Assembly elections due to the over enthusiasm of the TDP leaders to cash in on sand supply.

In the wake of such criticism, it would be better if the YCP government can ensure a strong sand policy that can withstand the test of time and at the same time, make the consumers as well as other stakeholders in the industry happy.