E-tender for sand mines to ensure transparency

In January this year, a division bench of the Madras High Court upheld the order banning sand quarrying in the state issued by a single judge on a petition filed at the Madurai Bench. 

The order to close quarries resulted in skyrocketing of sand price, which also dealt a severe blow to the construction industry. However, the apex court in February granted relief by staying the HC order following an appeal filed by the state government. Subsequently, the government decided to open around 70 sand quarries in the state in a phased manner to meet the growing demand and to ease the scarcity in availability of river sand.

Officials said the move, which has been welcomed by builders, will help prevent possible political interference. “Since paper-based documentation in the tender process can be tampered with, we have planned to go online for sand quarries in the Cauvery and Palar. Accordingly, the details of the bidders, who register online, will be verified and then an eligible party will be identified or selected,” they said. 

Welcoming the government’s move, R Kumar, former deputy planner of CMDA and Managing Director of Navin Housing and Properties Private Limited, said, “In the paper-based tender process, only certain bidders can participate, whereas the e-tender system allows multiple bidders.” 

When contacted, a special officer (sand mining wing), on condition of anonymity, told DT Next they would open around 30 sand quarries by the start of March, which would be followed by another 40 quarries by the end of the same month.