Free sand supply launched in Andhra Pradesh; consumers to pay operation cost and taxes only

The Andhra Pradesh government on July 8 (Monday) launched the supply of sand to consumers without charging any revenue share, except for the cost of operations and statutory levies and taxes. With this, the policies related to sand mining and supply launched by the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government— New Sand Mining Policy-2019 and Upgraded Sand Policy-2021— have been withdrawn.

The Andhra Pradesh government on July 8 (Monday) launched the supply of sand to consumers without charging any revenue share, except for the cost of operations and statutory levies and taxes.

With this, the policies related to sand mining and supply launched by the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government— New Sand Mining Policy-2019 and Upgraded Sand Policy-2021— have been withdrawn.

The NDA government in the State launched an interim mechanism for sand supply which will continue until the formulation of a new policy in this regard. The officials said that this initiative was launched to ensure that the sand supply mechanism was not disturbed for convenience of the consumers.

N. Yuvaraj, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce (Mines) Department, released the G.O. Ms. No. 43 on July 8 (Monday), enforcing the new guidelines with immediate effect and constituting District-Level Sand Committees (DLSCs) headed by the respective District Collectors as Chairpersons, along with 12 other officers as the members to oversee the excavation, storage, sale and transportation of sand. 

The consumers will be charged the cost of operations, along with the statutory levies and taxes. The cost of operations includes the expenditure for activities such as excavation, loading, transportation to the point of sale, ramp maintenance and administrative expenses. The statutory levies and taxes mean seignorage fee, DMF, MERIT and GST as applicable.

The DLSCs will fix and notify the amount to be charged at each source such as depots, de-siltation points, based on the cost of operations and the statutory levies and taxes. The DLSCs are authorised to modify these rates, wherever necessary, taking into consideration the changes in operating costs, levies and taxes from time to time.