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— Photo: Vipinchandran

SCARCE COMMODITY: Sand prices are ruling high, even as the periodic ban on sand-mining is set to be enforced during the monsoon season.

The fact is that mining of sand or gravel from water bodies, especially rivers, as a means of livelihood acquiring the proportions of an industry never had a future. However, it persists to this day, throwing up periodic crises in the building industry, accompanied by knee-jerk reactions from the administration and a generous dose of accusations of corruption.

The market buzz is that everybody loves “a good ban” on sand-mining during the monsoon, a yearly ritual in the cycle of our environmental concerns.

During the three-month ban, sand miners make as much money as they do during the rest of the year. For, with the ban comes the scarcity of the commodity, the price of which has gone up nearly 60 per cent over a year.

With yet another ban on the horizon, sand price has already gone up. By “sand price,” it is not implied that there is a uniform price for sand mined from the Periyar or any river in Kerala.

The price depends on a variety of factors, the location of the building site being one. The buyers are not in a position to measure exactly the quantity of sand supplied, leaving scope for a gap between what is promised and what is delivered.

Price of sand is already unstable so much so that it is virtually not possible to fix a price for a lorry load until it lands, says a supplier in Kochi. In Thrikkakara area, witness to unprecedented construction boom, 220 cubic feet of sand from Kalady, on the banks of the Periyar, costs about Rs. 8,000. This is an indicative price, up from around Rs. 7,600 a month ago.

The price fluctuations and scarcity continue amid the fact that a significant number of builders now opt for M-sand (manufactured sand). Manufactured sand is granite broken down to sand pebble size to suit concreting requirements.

The number of companies producing M-sand has gone up recently from the initial couple of companies in the State. This is an indication of the widespread demand for the material, says an official of a company producing and selling the product.

Sand-mining is controlled by the district administration. The policy of protecting rivers has strong legal backing. However, illegal mining of sand from rivers is a problem that needs to be overcome through concerted action, says S. Seetharaman of the Association for Environmental Protection, Aluva.

An official of the Ernakulam district administration says that sand-mining controls will be in place during the monsoon months and the situation will be reviewed.

The onus is on the district administration and panchayats and municipalities situated along the rivers for controlling sand-mining. Dr. Seetharaman says that 65 ghats (kadavu) have officially been sanctioned in Ernakulam district for sand-mining.

Each panchayat has been allotted a fixed number of lorry loads of sand that can be mined daily. However, the quantity far exceeds the sanctioned limits, he says.

Besides, at least half the ghats should be closed for the sake of protecting the Periyar, he says. There are specifications for allowing a ghat to operate and these take into consideration the depth of the beds, possible damage to the banks, agricultural land, potential damage to quality of water and so on.

There are 65 ghats in Ernakulam district along the Periyar spread over the municipalities of Perumbavoor and Kothamangalam and the panchayats of Neeleeswaram, Okkal, Kanjoor, Kalady, Koovappady, Keerampara, Kavalangad, Keezhmadu, Sreemoolanagaram, Vazhakkulam and Valakam.

The arrival of the monsoon implies that these ghats will be closed and sand-mining officially suspended for three months. However, illegal mining continues through the monsoon months to meet the never-ending need for the commodity.

Dr. Seetharaman has suggested that the Revenue Department take over mining and distribute sand regularly from specified storage locations.

This is the only means of bringing to an end illegal sand-mining, he says. According to him, the Revenue Department should follow a dual-pricing system to help the poor so that they get the construction material at affordable rates.

The demand for M-sand has gone up in tandem with the demand for river sand. It will only prove dearer during the rainy months. An indication of the coming days is in the price trends.

Even after capacity-addition in many granite quarries, production is falling rather short of the demand, raising the prices of best quality M-sand to as much as Rs. 1,050 a cubic metre.

M.V. Antony, secretary of Kerala Builders’ Forum, says that the government has to play a major role in making sand available for construction. It is always better to broad-base the resources so that the environmental balance is maintained, he says.

Fine sand can be made available if dams are de-silted, he says. Licensing norms for quarries need to be revised so that procedural delays are removed in manufacturing sand.

M-sand comes in five categories. Those who do not know the difference may get cheated after paying up for the first quality.

Mr. Antony says quality of construction will be affected if the right quality sand is not used. Sand categories have varied uses. What can be used for brick work cannot be used for plastering or for concrete work.

According to another builder, the quality of river sand has deteriorated. Presence of impurities calls for proper washing and sieving before being used. At the same time, M-sand manufactured with fully automated machines is of very high quality, he says.

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