Sand shortage sparks row inside, outside Jharkhand Assembly
Ranchi (The Uttam Hindu): On the final day of the special session of the Jharkhand Assembly on Thursday, the issue of sand shortage in the state sparked heated discussions both inside and outside the House. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Babulal Marandi, brought up the crisis during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor's address. Marandi stated, “The sand crisis has become a pressing issue across the state. The government has failed to auction sand ghats. Police arrest individuals and file cases against them for transporting sand for house construction. If the government cannot auction the sand ghats, it should consider making sand freely available for construction work.”
He further demanded accountability from the government regarding alleged looting at the sand ghats. “The government talks about schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas and Abua Awas, but sand is unavailable even for these programs,” he added. Marandi also raised the issue on social media. In a post on X on Thursday, he said, “The shortage of sand in Jharkhand has increased the difficulties of the people. Out of 444 sand ghats, only 51 have been approved, and out of these, only 24 are producing sand.
"Due to this, construction work in the state has come to a complete halt. Sand prices have reached record levels. In just 10 days, the price of a trolley of sand has increased by Rs 12,000. In other districts of Jharkhand including Palamu, sand is being sold at Rs 25 to Rs 40 per bag.” “This shortage has affected not only house construction but also important projects like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. If this crisis is not resolved soon, development work in the state may be badly affected. Hemant ji, to provide relief to the people of the state and get the construction sector back on track, it is necessary that black marketing of sand be completely banned and concrete and strict action be taken against the sand mafia,” he added.
Earlier, BJP MLA Kushwaha Shashi Bhushan Prasad Mehta staged a sit-in at the Assembly gate before the session began. Mehta emphasised the impact of the shortage on key housing projects, including PM Awas and Abua Awas, and called for immediate government intervention. He also raised the matter in the House, stating that in his home district, Palamu, sand is being sold at exorbitant rates of Rs 45-50 per kilogram.
Former Chief Minister and BJP MLA, Champai Soren, speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, hit out at the government's unfulfilled promises. “The government announced free sand for house construction, but this is not being implemented. Instead, people transporting sand are being penalised. The government’s words and actions do not align,” he said.
