Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, on Thursday, reviewed the availability of sand in AP, and directed officials to speed up the auction process of reaches which have received environmental clearances.
Principal secretary (Mines) D Srinivasulu informed the CM that out of 36 new reaches for which environmental clearance is obtained, 18 reaches are already auctioned. The rest are under the auction process, he said.
Steps are being taken to obtain environmental clearances for the 47 old reaches for which renewal is to be done for the second year, he said.
The principal secretary also said that steps are taken for the de-silting of sand reaches submerged by irrigation projects.
The CM directed the officials to examine the issue of the enhancement of security deposits to curb speculative bidding. He also directed Mining officials to ensure that sand is available for construction in all districts.
Minister for Mines & Geology Galla Aruna Kumari and other officials were present during the review. (INN)