Sand lorry owners’ federation raises concern over poor quality of M-sand in T.N.

Members of the Tamil Nadu State Sand Truck Owners Federation have expressed concern over the poor quality of M-sand as unauthorized M-sand manufacturing units have mushroomed across the State.

The federation noted that there are around 4,000 M-sand production units in the state. Of these, the quality of only 478 M-sand production units has been certified by the Public Works Department (PWD).

Federation president S. Yuvaraj said that in the absence of river sand quarries, especially in the last few years, many constructions were based on M sand. The state has a daily demand of around 25,000 loads of M-sand. In Chennai alone, there is a daily demand of around 8,000 loads of M-sand and the shortfall of 2,000 loads is being met by blended sand. M-sand is priced between ₹ 55 to ₹ 60 per cubic foot.

While licenses to operate quarries and crushing units are provided by the Mining Department and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), most of them operate without quality control. This, he said, has led to the use of substandard materials in residential construction and government projects.

Fort St. In a complaint lodged at George police station, the Federation sought action against the relevant officials in the PWD and Natural Resources department for failure to enforce M-sand rules and curb illegal M-sand production units. The Federation demanded that all units operating without proper approval should be allowed to operate only after a review by a committee constituted by the State government.

Disability officials said product quality certification is voluntary. The ministry’s high-level committee has so far granted quality approval certificates to 500 units, and this certificate is valid for three years for quarry owners and one year for crusher units. Quality checks are carried out for product approval and certification renewal. The Natural Resources department is in the process of framing the rules.