CM urged to create a new department

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Sand and Lorry Owners Federation has urged the state Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to have a separate department for sand quarrying operations and that it should be monitored by a bureaucrat.Federation leader S Yuvaraj told City Express that a need for separate department arises due to irregularities in sand mining and the crisis currently being faced by the construction industry due to non-availability of sand.“Take the case of sand mining in Tamiraparani. Rules were flouted as the bed is dug deep. The public works department was helpless in this case,” he alleged adding that PWD has no powers to regulate sand quarrying.He alleged during the DMK regime, second sales of sand was taking place illegally resulting in appreciation of sand prices. “We took up the issue with the governor but got no response. We are dependent on the present regime to look into our demands,” he added.He said that currently, 55 per cent of construction work has stopped as only few quarries are functioning now as against 22 quarries, which were operating before the elections in Villupuram, Kanchipuram and Vellore. He said currently 1,000 to 3,000 load of sand is being brought from the two quarries against the city’s requirement of 10,000 - 12,000 loads of sand from the riverbed.Interestingly, national secretary of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI), T Chittibabu, has also urged the government to curb the rising price of material costs like cement, sand and bulk materials. He told City Express, “The government should regulate the illegal sale of sand to other states as this could control the prices.”