State revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil told the state assembly that the government will introduce a new policy on sand mining before the end of the budget session. He had initially made the announcement during the December 2022 session.
The policy will control unchecked excavation, which is an environmental hazard. Private bodies extracting sand unchecked will be stopped. The government will set up controls for excavation,” said Vikhe Patil. He said the policy will put a stop to the use of heavy trucks to transport sand and also provide guidelines for the use of stone-crushers. He said the policy would take into account the use of sand for domestic use by villagers.
Earlier NCP leader Rajesh Tope had said that trucks were carrying 30-40 tons of sand on rural roads which did not have the capacity to carry more than 10 tons of weight.