The Builders Association of India and the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry have said that all construction activity in the State will come to a standstill in a week if sand is not made available.
On September 25, the Bombay High Court ordered an interim stay on excavation of sand across the State and asked the State Revenue Secretary to ensure that the order was communicated to all district Collectors to ensure implementation. Further, the State has been asked to revert to the court on October 25.
Standstill
Over 3,000 projects exceeding Rs 50,000 crore are expected to come to a halt in Mumbai alone, according to Mr Sunil Mantri, President, MCHI. Since September 25, the builder community is working with its inventory besides stock holding with sand suppliers. Mumbai, on an average, gets about 10,000 truckloads of about 40,000 cubic metres a day.
The court order follows a public interest petition expressing environment concerns over indiscriminate sand mining on riverbeds and nallahs. Last year, the High Court ruled that no sand mining would be permitted in the coastal regulation zones, again on environment concerns.
Supply from Gujarat
As for builders, supply from Gujarat, which was a major source, has been cut off. The Gujarat government has passed an order banning supply of sand outside the State.
Alternatives, such as crushed sand, which builders use to a minimum extent, appear remote as both availability and feasibility of their use looks difficult.
Mr Bhagvan J Deokar, president of the Builders Association, said the ban would affect all projects, including metro rail, monorail, redevelopment and slum rehabilitation schemes and State government civil contracts such as roads, bridges and culverts.
Transition time sought
Mr Anand Gupta, Treasurer, BAI, said the government should give enough time for builders and contractors to switch over to alternative material such as M-sand or crushed sand from stone.
Both Mr Mantri and Mr Deokar said crushed sand was not available to the specifications prescribed for construction and posed problems in plastering of walls and in finishing, besides raising issues such binding and leakage.
They agreed that it could be used in addition to sand especially in reinforced concreting up to 70 per cent.
Cost advantage
The cost of crushed sand is, however, lower than river sand at Rs 2,500-2,800 for 100 cubic feet as against sand which now costs Rs 8,000 per cft post the ban. Sand cost was between Rs 3,000 and 3,500 per cft.
Crushed sand too could pose environment issues as getting the stone and pebbles in large quantities could also mean depletion of natural resources.
The builder fraternity want the government to relax the ban so that work does not suffer while ensuring that a sustainable level of sand is excavated.
Source- The Hindu
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