PWD asks M-sand producers for quality certificate

Chennai

With the demand for river sand rising sharply in the State, builders have now shifted to using M-sand, but the manufacturers are yet to get approval for the quality of materials.

“Although the usage of M-sand has increased in the State, the department now receive complaints regarding the quality used. So, to avoid such issues, we have asked the manufacturers to apply for the certificate,” an official said.

So far, the PWD have issued 129 certificates last month alone and even issued a warning notice to M-sand manufacturers that if they don’t get the certificate, action would be taken against them.

“After issuing the warning, we received nearly 70 applications in that week. The checking of the materials is in process. A committee meeting would be held next month. If the applications passes, it will be issued on the same day. The meeting will have members from IIT Madras, Anna University, Bureau of Indian Standards, Military Engineering Service, Chairman of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Chairman of Tamil Nadu Housing Board and Chief Engineers of State PWD,” said C Kalyanasundaram, Superintendent Engineer, Planning and Designing Circle (Building)

After applying for the certificate, the PWD engineers will visit the factory and check for equipment such as Vertical Shaft Impact (VSI) machine (ISI standard machine), jaw crushers, cone crusher, secondary jaw crusher, vibrator screen, washing plant and sieve analysis laboratory. They will also test the M-sand and the water used for the process. “If the test report from Central or State lab are not satisfactory, then it will be rejected and taken to public notice. They have to buy a new machine and apply for the certificate again. Moreover, till they get the certificate approved, they cannot supply the sand to the public,” saidKalyanasundaram.

The officials from the PWD department have collected samples of water, stones, cement and sand for the testing process. “After receiving the result from the lab last week, we applied for the certificate. Earlier, we would get the quality certificate from the lab. After PWD issued a notice, we applied for the quality certificate, said Dhiraviyam Raj, owner of Thanushiya M-Sand Unit in Thiruneermalai.

The officials added that the test results of the samples would be declared in 15 days at the committee meeting and the manufacturers would be questioned technically on the factory and materials.

There are nearly 1,000 M-sand manufacturing units across the State, being sold at an average price of Rs 35 per cubic foot. However, places such as Karur sell M-sand at Rs 28 per cubic foot, while in Chennai, the rate is Rs 42 per cubic foot.

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