The Communist Party of India (CPI) has asked the State government to supply sand free of cost.
In a letter to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday, CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna said that sand scarcity surfaced in the State only after the YSR Congress Party came to power.
Lakhs of workers dependent on the construction activity and its allied industries lost their livelihood due to sand scarcity. During the first four months of the YSRCP rule, 14 construction workers died due to unemployment triggered by non- availability of sand. The sand was sold in black market and the government whiled away four months saying that the new sand policy would be introduced, he said.
Rise in cost
Even after introduction of the new sand policy, a tractor load of sand was being sold at ₹5,000. Previously, a tractor load of sand was available for about ₹1,800. It seems that corruption to the tune of ₹500 crore took place in sand supply, the CPI leader alleged.
“Ministers and MLAs have a role in the scam. To divert the main issue, new policies are being introduced and attempts made to establish a corporation for sand supply,” he alleged.
