Sand today gone tomorrow

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With rampant construction across the state having pushed up the demand for sand, builders are having to pay a lot more for it today.

While the daily requirement of the state’s construction industry hovers around 20,000 truckloads of sand , it can lay its hand on only about 18,000 truckloads, whether from legal or illegal sources.

A truckload of 300 cubic feet of sand is today available for Rs 7800, says MD of Akshaya Homes, T. Chitty Babu. But about six months ago it shot up to Rs 10,000.

Although the government earns a revenue of only Rs 650 for 200 per cubic feet of sand mined from rivers by approved quarries, the final price when it reaches the builders is three to four times higher, the industry complains. “Sand loading and unloading operations alone cost Rs 2,000,” says Mr Mu.Mohan, state secretary of the Builders’ Association of India.

Sand requirements of Chennai realtors are largely met by supplies from Palar river mined in Kancheepuram and Villupuram districts.

About 300 to 400 lorries ferry sand to meet Chennai’s daily realty needs while about 200 truckloads of sand are sent to the districts.

However, growing concern about mindless mining in rivers and the sand mafia has now forced most builders to see crushed sand obtained from blue metal stone as an alternative.

“We are now encouraging our members to use crushed sand which is cheaper ,” says Mr Mohan, revealing they had even appealed to the Public Works Department to make it mandatory to include a percentage of crushed sand in government construction tenders.

Although crushed sand cannot be used for plastering, it is used for other purposes such as brick layering explains Mr Babu.