Karnataka's new sand policy will benefit buyers, says state minister Murugesh Nirani

Karnataka: The report said the draft proposal on the new sand policy is currently being examined by a committee of experts. The government will create a nodal agency under the department of mines and geology to coordinate with processes of procurement, pricing, packing, and delivery.

Gone are the days when truckloads of sand used to be dumped on roads. In what comes as a first in the country, the Karnataka government has now planned to pack sand in bags for delivery to construction sites. The policy was announced by officials of the mines and geology department at the Vidhana Soudha, according to the Prajavani e-paper, which reported that the state government has devised this unique plan to benefit the buyers in various ways.

Sandbags will be made available in packages of 25 kg, 50 kg, and 100 kg. (File Photo / HT)

With this new policy, the government aims to ensure accurate weighing and affordability of the sand for the people planning to build their houses. Besides, the branding of sand will also be done. The sand packed in bags will eliminate profiteering, hoarding, and speculation in the market as sand will be available at the same cost throughout the year.

“Sand will be packed in waterproof bags, so they can be stored even during the monsoons when sand mining is banned," said Karnataka mines and geology minister Murugesh Nirani. "The packaging of sand will give 100% value to the buyers. Till now, the sand sold in truckloads contained impurities and caused a lot of wastage. Therefore, the buyer used to get the value of only 70-80 % of the purchased sand. But these quality-checked bags of sand will not have these issues,” he affirmed.

The report said the draft proposal on the new sand policy is currently being examined by a committee of experts. The government will create a nodal agency under the department of mines and geology to coordinate with processes of procurement, pricing, packing, and delivery. The special nodal agency will function along the lines of the state-owned Beverages corporation limited.

“In order to identify sand blocks on river courses and beds, the Karnataka state mineral development corporation limited will conduct a survey ordered by the state government. The state government will then chalk out a plan for extraction and setting up a bagging unit. All surveys will be done using drones”, Prajavani quoted Nirani as saying.

Sandbags will be made available in packages of 25 kg, 50 kg, and 100 kg. “Five plants will come up, on an experimental basis in as many places. Sand will also be grouped into three categories A, B, and C, according to the usage,” Nirani explained.