Former MP and AIADMK leader M Ramadass has urged upon the Lieutenant Governor, Puducherry to reject the proposal of a cooperative society seeking to acquire sand dunes in river Godavari as vested interests are out to loot natural resources in alliance with the state administration, reports New Indian Express.
In a memorandum to the Lieutenant Governor, Ramadass stated that sand dunes have formed at the mouth of Godavari in the aftermath of recent floods and alleged that certain influential people were trying to appropriate it by forming a co-operative society. The Executive Engineer of Yanam had fixed a price of Rs 550 per unit of sand and the total value is estimated to be Rs 30 crore. On the other hand, if the sand is sold in the open market it would fetch about Rs 120 crore to the Government of Puducherry.
According to the proposal prepared by the cooperative society, the PWD of Yanam will allot the entire quantity of sand to it for Rs 30 crore on the ground that it is a quasi government organisation, which in turn would sell it to members at a concessional rate. The government will get 12 per cent of the net proceeds (Rs 3.6 crore) while the remaining 88 per cent will go to the cooperative society.
Ramadass said because of the scarce supply of sand in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, bordering Yanam, the sand can be sold for more than Rs 120 crore. The vested interests in the garb of a cooperative society will make profits of about Rs 90 crore while the government will get a tiny sum of Rs 3.6 crore, he added.