Andhra Pradesh: Tenders for sand mines held transparently, claims Chief Secretary of Department of Mines

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 23 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Panchayati Raj and Chief Secretary of the Department of Mines Gopala Krishna Dwivedi has said that the tenders for sand mines in the state were given following a transparent process.
"The sand policy came into force on September 5, 2019. To evaluate the same, the government undertook a lengthy but effective process of collecting feedback. Multiple issues like the delivery cost being high, lack of choice, server-related issues, and quality deficiencies were reported during the same," Dwivedi told media persons here on Monday.
"To formulate and implement corrective measures, a cabinet committee was subsequently formulated. After several meetings, the committee prepared a draft of the recommendations. To exhibit transparency, the draft was made public for citizens to refer to and suggest any changes if necessary. A toll-free number - 14550 - was also instated to record complaints. A total of 589 responses were collected, out of which 82 per cent of them were in concurrence with the policy," he said.
Speaking about the "free and fair nature" of the tender process, the chief secretary said that the government prescribed a comprehensive set of guidelines that exhibited transparency in the process.
"Right from the minimum annual turnover to the minimum experience required to the company having a proven and clean track record, every single detail was mentioned in the guidelines. After verifying the eligibility of the company pertaining to all probable aspects listed out by the government of Andhra Pradesh, MSTC gave us the name of Jay Prakash Power Ventures ltd," he said.
Responding to specific allegations levelled by certain sections motivated by political opportunism, he said, "They are levelling all sorts of allegations. One says the company is not experienced, the other says the company will earn 2000 crore and another says the agency is bankrupt. All these are baseless. The company being bankrupt is a false claim.
Listing out the benefits of the new sand policy, the chief secretary said, "People can directly pick the sand up from a location of their choice, after looking at the quality in their own vehicle under the new policy. Previously, none of these choices was given to the consumer. There will be a uniform price across the state. Online booking will no longer be mandatory. Citizens can directly pick sand up by approaching those at the respective reaches." (ANI)