BRS challenges Telangana Congress on sand revenue, demands all-party MLA panel probe

BRS spokesperson Krishank Manne slams Congress government for hiking sand prices from Rs 1,200 per tonne (including GST and transportation) to Rs 1,800 per tonne (excluding GST and transportation)

Hyderabad: The BRS has rubbished Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy‘s claims that sand mining revenue under the Congress is higher than the previous BRS regime.

Challenging him to prove his claims, the party demanded for the constitution of an all-party MLA panel to audit daily sand revenue transactions for 2024-25.

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Charging the ruling Congress with misleading the public, BRS spokesperson Krishank Manne slammed the Congress for hiking sand prices from Rs 1,200 per tonne (including GST and transportation) to Rs 1,800 per tonne (excluding GST and transportation).

As a result, the Congress is imposing additional financial burden on the people of Telangana.

He also highlighted the ongoing lorry association protests against the government’s revised sand mining policies and alleged violation of environmental guidelines.

The BRS leader refuted the Congress’ claims of increased revenue, pointing out that during the BRS regime, daily sand collections reached Rs 3.5 crore, despite charging lesser price than the Congress government.

He questioned why, if revenues had truly increased, the official annual target remained Rs 800 crore, as per the Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation (TGMDC).

“Shouldn’t the target be higher if the earnings are more?” he asked.

He noted that despite the Congress government increasing prices, extending mining hours and introducing door-to-door delivery, apart from opening sand sales at agricultural markets, the revenue targets remained the same.

He challenged the Chief Minister if he was willing to revise the target to Rs 1,200 crore.