The government on Tuesday banned sand mining in the State for the next 15 days and announced that it was contemplating bringing a new policy scrapping the one introduced by the previous Telugu Desam government. The idea is to ensure that the new policy would be a win-win situation for both consumers and the government. Also, it was one of the key decisions taken by the State Cabinet at its first meeting on Monday.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat, Mines and Panchayat Raj Development Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy said that the government would study the mining policy of other States to prepare one best suited for A.P. The new policy would come into force from July 1. Persons resorting to illegal transportation would be booked under the PD Act and the district officials would be held responsible if any such cases were reported, he asserted.