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Lorry owners plan stir against move to privatise sand mining in State
money-spinner: Sand being mined from a riverbed.
MADURAI: Lorry owners, engaged in sand transportation, have threatened to go on strike if the State Government did not withdraw its proposal to privatise sand quarrying activities.
“If the Government is not able to control irregularities in the present set-up where involvement of private contractors is confined to just loading of sand into lorries, the proposal to privatise the entire quarrying activity will only lead to large-scale corruption,” M. Ravirajan, deputy president of Sri Meenakshi Sand Lorry Owners’ Welfare Association told reporters here on Friday.
The lorry operators had to pay Rs. 1,600 for two units of sand (one lorry load) whereas the actual receipt is only for Rs. 627. “The (Rs. 627) money paid in the form of demand draft included Rs. 90 for loading charges. However, we are forced to pay Rs. 1,000 extra to the contractor for loading (for every lorry load),” he said.
Stating that Public Works Department engineers are not available at the quarry, association secretary A.G. Loganathan said that the trip sheets, signed by the PWD engineers, were being issued by the contractors themselves. “At least 10 lorry loads of sand are despatched illegally against every single trip sheet,” he said.
The owners said they could bring down the price of a load of sand from the present Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 3,000 if the Government disengaged private contractors and employ PWD workers in loading sand at quarries.
“Privatising quarries will in no way help reduce sand prices but will only double it,” K. Senthamarai Kannan, another office-bearer, said. The association with 326 members plans to protest the proposal, including suspending transportation of sand.
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