Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday directed district collectors to open all sand reaches and aim at storing 70 lakh tonnes of sand before the onset of monsoon.
During a digital 'Spandana' meeting with district collectors, Jagan also said that hereafter, orders for sand can be booked at village secretariats from June 11. A directive in this regard was also issued in the meeting.
"All sand reaches should be opened and enough stock should be piled before the monsoon becomes active," an official statement quoted Reddy having said in the meeting.
The activity at sand reaches should be stepped up and sand mining escalated in Srikakulam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Nellore and Kadapa districts where the number of reaches are more in number, he said.
"New sources should also be identified and reaches should be set up," the chief minister said, adding that the aim should be to store 70 lakh tonnes of sand before the onset of monsoon.
People with smaller needs can draw sand from any source within 5 km of a sand quarry and the matter should be informed to the village secretariat, while bulk orders should be dealt by a joint collector, the chief minister said. A standard operating procedure in this regard will come into force from June 10, Jagan said and asked officers to maintain transparency in all deals.
On the liquor policy, the chief minister said the state government has taken effective steps to bring down the consumption of alcohol in Andhra Pradesh.
"We have closed down 43,000 belt shops and reduced the number of liquor shops by 33 percent, besides cutting down the number of working hours after taking over the liquor trade," he said.
"We are very serious about these matters. Any illegal sale and transport of liquor and sand and will be dealt with firmly," he added.
Meanwhile, Jagan also directed officials to issue identity cards for various welfare schemes to beneficiaries in a time-bound manner.
He said as per the standard operation procedure (SOP), rice and pension cards will be given within 10 days of applying, Aarogyasri cards within 20 days and house site pattas with registration within 90 days.
"This is the commitment we have given to the people and the SOP should be followed strictly and the benefits should be given on saturation method without any scope for corruption and should be transparent," an official statement quoted the chief minister saying.
If the cards are not given within the stipulated time for no valid reason, action will be taken, Jagan said, adding that the list of beneficiaries should be displayed at all village and ward secretariats. The pension, rice and Aarogyasri cards should be delivered to beneficiaries at their doorstep, he said.
Noting that 31,000 of the 55,000 anganwadis in the state are in a bad shape, he said that there is need for new buildings and asked a joint collector to take up the responsibility of training staff at village and ward secretariats and review their work.