Former Minister and YSRCP Nellore district president Kakani Govardhan Reddy addressing the media at the YSRCP office in Nellore on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
YSRCP Nellore district president and former Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy called the free sand policy ‘a complete fraud’, alleging that it had become a cover for large-scale illegal mining and organised plunder of natural resources by ruling party leaders.
Addressing the media at the YSRCP district office in Nellore on Tuesday, the Minister alleged, “Sand is being sold at more than five times the government-fixed price, while coalition MLAs are minting over ₹3 crore per month from each sand reach.”
He presented photographic evidence of midnight and early-morning illegal mining at Virivuru and Surayapalem sand reaches, depicting sand excavation up to 10 metres deep in Penna riverbed using heavy machinery in open violation of rules, NGT directions, and environmental safeguards.
“Under the YSRCP government, regulated sand tenders generated a revenue of nearly ₹700 crore annually, totalling nearly ₹3,500 crore over five years for the exchequer, whereas under the coalition government the entire revenue is being siphoned off by political networks in the name of free sand,” the former Minister alleged.
“The collections are being made through QR codes routed to private bank accounts, while buyers are given handwritten slips instead of official permits. Tractors, which should be charged under ₹300, are being forced to pay close to ₹1,250, while tippers and lorries that should pay between ₹1,400 and ₹2,000 are being charged between ₹8,000 to ₹15,000,” he further alleged.
Mr. Kakani accused the ruling party leaders of constructing roads inside the riverbed to enable round-the-clock sand mining, blocking irrigation canals, destroying the Penna river ecosystem, and creating deadly pits that have already claimed innocent lives.
“Those questioning the sand mafia are being threatened or attacked, while police act as mute spectators, even seeking ministerial permission instead of enforcing the law,” he claimed.
“If the Chief Minister has any sincerity, the culprits must be brought before the public. The ongoing sand plunder is bleeding State revenues, destroying the environment, and fully exposing the coalition’s free sand slogan as a massive organised scam,” the YSRCP leader alleged.
Published – January 27, 2026 07:58 pm IST
