Manufactured sand policy to be launched in Raj today

Jaipur: The state government will launch the manufactured sand (M-sand) policy on Monday. The production of manufactured sand increased in Rajasthan in wake of the Supreme Court ban on sand river. As the trade of the sand continued for lack of any guidelines from state government, chief minister Ashok Gehlot issued instructions to mines officials to give a legal framework on M-sand production by drafting a policy, following which the policy has been framed.

An official source said, "Chief minister Ashok Gehlot will launch the policy and give industry status to manufactured sand (M-sand) and mandate its use. The new policy will curb excessive sand mining on riverbeds that causes damage to environment".

As per the department records, 243 units in Rajasthan are manufacturing M-sand, most of them are in Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Jaipur and Bharatpur districts. About 2,00,000 tonnes M-sand is produced in the state per day, while the demand is for 6,00,000 tonnes. The M-sand produced after crushing hard granite stone, rocks, extracted from quarries is the nearest substitute of river sand. The policy would assist to promote the systematic demand of M-sand. "It has been suggested that 25% of the requirement will be fulfilled by M-sand in government projects," said a source.

The Rajasthan M-sand policy was formulated after examining other states' policies including Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. To promote M-sand after providing industrial status, the government has decided to provide incentives to the manufactures. "Once launched, manufactures will be provided with incentives including stamp duty, VAT/GST, and subsidy on loans. Moreover, facilities and packages will be provided under Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme (RIPS)," said offical

On November 16, 2017, the Supreme Court had restrained 82 large lease holders from mining sand in the state. The court banned the mining of sand and bajri until agencies completed a scientific replenishment study and MoEF granted clearance after considering the matter fully and dispassionately. "Despite the unavailability of river sand, people did not completely shift to M-sand as it failed to win confidence. The new policy will develop trust and its sales in the state," added the source.