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Crack down on sand thieves, ministers tell officials

Nagpur: Home minister Anil Deshmukh has directed the revenue officials to take strict action against sand thieves and smugglers in the region. He had organized a meeting in this regard through video conferencing on Monday.

The minister said officials should not just penalize vehicles transporting illegally excavated sand but also seize them.

The officials found colluding with sand smugglers should also be punished, he added.

Deshmukh ordered setting up of a checkpost in Nilaj on Umred-Bhiwapur road. Close circuit television (CCTV) cameras should be installed at all checkposts to keep a watch on illegal transport of sand. He told the district collectors to fix the offset price of sand.

Guardian minister Nitin Raut said revenue and police departments should jointly crack down on sand smugglers. Telangana model needed to be studied and implemented here. Minor minerals monitoring cells exist in every sub-divisional office. They need to become more active and hold regular meetings. Raut asked revenue officials to install CCTV cameras at Khapa, Wadegaon and Sawangi sand ghats in Nagpur district.

Chandrapur guardian minister Vijay Wadettiwar complained that sand was being regularly transported illegally on Bhandara-Nilaj road. A checkpost should be set up on this road. He also demanded that the government determine the demand and supply of sand in the area. The quantity of sand to be excavated from ghats should be determined on the basis of this study and sand ghats should be auctioned accordingly. He directed the revenue department to constitute flying squads to crack down on illegal sand transport.

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