Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The district administration has granted permission for a sand contractor in the Hiradpuri belt of Paithan tehsil to extract sand at the rate of Rs 29 per ton, which has sparked opposition from both the BJP and the Shiv Sena faction. Both parties have started filing complaints about this, and now the administration is under suspicion. The Shiv Sena faction has alleged that the contract was awarded at a lower rate due to political pressure. Meanwhile, the BJP has taken the stance of complaining to the revenue minister.
The contractor is set to extract 53,000 brass of sand from the Hiradpuri sand belt. The district administration approved the tenders for this area last week, while the tender for the sand depot at Apegaon was cancelled. Both Hiradpuri and Apegaon saw tenders submitted at lower rates last month. For Apegaon, Dwarka Construction & Building Materials offered the lowest rate of Rs 7 per ton, while for Hiradpuri, Active Associates offered the lowest rate of Rs. 29 per ton.
The minor minerals section sought guidance from the government regarding these rates, and the government suggested that the decision be made at the local level. Following this, District Collector Deelip Swami approved the tender for the Hiradpuri belt, while cancelling the tender for Apegaon. After approving the Hiradpuri depot tender, the Minor Minerals Department issued a letter to Active Associates regarding the deposit payment.
Government revenue will not be affected
According to the Minor Minerals section (District Administration), "After the deposit, the depot will be opened and excavation permission will be granted. Since the tender was approved following the government's feedback, there will be no loss of revenue."
Complaint to the revenue minister...
BJP City President Shirish Boralkar said, "It appears that the government will suffer revenue loss from the Hiradpuri sand belt. Therefore, a complaint will be lodged with the Revenue Minister."
Re-tendering should be done
Uddhav Sena’s City President Raju Vaidya, "Last year, the lease was granted at a rate of Rs 150, but this year it was given at Rs 29. This is suspicious. Therefore, re-tendering should be done."