A division bench of the Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday asked the Andhra government to explain the basis on which the higher bidders for the red sanders have been rejected.

It also demanded to know why the state is not showing the names of successful bidders.

The bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Shameem Akther was dealing with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a retired forest officer D Basava Sankar Rao.

A Times of India report said that the PIL was submitted in December 2014, which stated that A-Grade red sanders was sold at Rs 1.95 crore per ton, while B-Grade red sanders was sold at Rs 90 lakh per ton and C-Grade at Rs 27 lakh per ton, which were reportedly the rates of red sander.

However, the government has now permitted sale of red sanders at a much lower rate in the name of e-auction. The new rates are Rs 38 lakh per ton for the A-grade, while B-grade was sold at Rs 28 lakh and C-grade for Rs 15 lakh per tonne.

The petitioner’s counsel claimed that this amounted to a total loss of Rs 726,92,19,113.

Small items like beeds, powder and chips are being sold at high rates in Lepakshi, Central Cottage Emporium of central government, the counsel said.

He was quoted in The New Indian Express as saying that red sanders are non-perishable and should not be dumped but released in a phased manner into the market.

The bench in its reply said that the petitioner can get more bidders who can pay higher prices.

Meanwhile, the case has been posted for next week.