Mumbai, July 1 (IANS) In a bid to boost the construction sector and ensure the timely availability of sand for the general public and government housing schemes, the state government will announce a ‘Zero Royalty’ policy for sand coming from other states.

The policy will apply to all border districts, including Nandurbar, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur, and Amravati.

However, priority will not be given to inter-state sand in districts that already possess abundant local sand reserves.

The Revenue Minister Chandrasekhar Bawankule added that such sand transportation will only be permitted during the day, with a complete ban on nighttime transit.

The policy decision in this regard will be finalised before the conclusion of the ongoing assembly session, said Revenue Minister Chandrasekhar Bawankule in the Legislative Council on Wednesday.

The Minister was replying to a Calling Attention Motion moved by MLC Chandrakant Raghuvanshi regarding the acute sand shortage in Nandurbar district and the challenges surrounding sand imported from Gujarat.

The Revenue Minister stated that until local sand resources become operational, sand can be imported from Gujarat or other states.

For this, it will be mandatory for the District Collector of the exporting state to formally send a proposal or letter to the respective Collector in Maharashtra, confirming the availability of sand.

Following this official correspondence, a mutual ‘tie-up’ between both District Collectors will be established, and the required sand will be made available to Nandurbar on a ‘Zero Royalty’ basis.

“In alignment with Supreme Court directives, Maharashtra cannot levy a double royalty on sand that has already paid royalty in Gujarat. Consequently, the state does not generate revenue from this,” the Revenue Minister remarked.

He added, however, that heavy vehicles carrying 20 to 30 tonnes of sand severely damage rural roads.

Therefore, to generate funds for road repairs under the Mineral Development Fund, the government is legally exploring the option of levying nominal transit/transport charges while maintaining the ‘Zero Royalty’ policy.

Furthermore, to completely curb the illegal transportation of sand and minor minerals, an online monitoring system has been developed in collaboration with the central government’s ‘RailTel’ company.

A state-level ‘War Room’ has also been operationalised at the Konkan Divisional Commissioner’s office to monitor transport activities, informed the Minister.

Member Raghuvanshi pointed out that while the Tapi riverbed in Nandurbar district holds abundant sand reserves, it is impossible to extract it using traditional methods as the river flows with water 365 days a year.

He noted that neighbouring Gujarat permits the use of suction pumps for year-round sand extraction.

Due to the lack of similar permissions in Maharashtra, a severe local sand shortage has emerged, bringing developmental and construction projects to a grinding halt.

Responding to this, the Revenue Minister clarified that the Environment Department has previously granted specific, policy-based permissions for suction pump operations in certain coastal areas of the Konkan region.

On similar lines, the state government is introducing a special proposal to allow suction pumps in the Tapi riverbed of Nandurbar district.

However, the extraction will strictly adhere to the volume limits approved by the Environment Department.

The Minister announced that the contract of the previous government’s ‘Shaurya’ agency has expired, and all middleman mechanisms have been completely dismantled.

The central government’s public sector unit, ‘RailTel’, has been awarded the contract for the online supervision of sand transportation.

The Konkan Divisional Commissioner has been appointed as the Nodal Officer for this system.

Operating from the centralised War Room, every sand-carrying truck in the state will be tracked online, ensuring that not a single illegal sand truck can operate in Maharashtra, he said.

–IANS

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