“Ensuring Affordable Sand: A Step Towards Better Homes for All”

Amravati : To ensure the availability of affordable sand for citizens, the state government has implemented a new sand policy from mid-2023. Under this policy, the price of sand has been fixed at subsidized rates. Accordingly, the district administration will facilitate easy availability of sand for construction purposes to ordinary citizens, while taking strict action against illegal sand mining and transportation. Dr. Nidhi Pandey, the departmental commissioner, issued these instructions to the district administration today at the commissioner’s office conference hall.

Dr. Pandey also took up various important subjects and reviewed the progress of government works in Washim district. Present at the meeting were Washim District Collector Buvaneshwari S., Chief Executive Officer of the District Council Vaibhav Waghmare, Deputy Commissioner (General Administration) Sanjay Pawar, Deputy Commissioner (Conversion) Gajendra Bavane, Deputy Commissioner (Maintenance) Ramesh Ade, Deputy Commissioner (Planning) Rajendra Fadke, Deputy Commissioner (Development) Santosh Kawade, Deputy Commissioner (Urban Development) Gita Vanjari, Deputy Commissioner Harshad Chaudhari, Assistant Commissioners Shyamkant Maske, Vaishali Pathare, and Legal Officer Narendra Bohra.

Dr. Pandey emphasized that sand is not readily available for construction work for ordinary citizens, and directed the department to be more vigilant in addressing this issue affecting the poor and general public. She instructed to build depots for sand storage alongside riverbanks and to take strict action against unauthorized sand excavation and transportation. She also instructed to increase scrutiny at check posts to curb interstate sand smuggling and to increase the vigilance of revenue officials.

During the meeting, detailed discussions were held on various important subjects including the National Food Security Act, distribution of food grains under DBT, Swarnim Mahotsav Dalit Basti Improvement Scheme, Jal Jeevan Mission for water conservation, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, survey of persons with disabilities, appointment of grievance redressal officers for the disabled, tax recovery under tax plans, bamboo plantation under MNREGA, completion of development works under MNREGA schemes, scrutiny of wage rolls of Rohaya workers, Kurang Development Dashboard, and pending judicial cases at the departmental level.

In order to effectively implement the MGNREGA Bamboo Plantation Scheme to expand green cover in departmental areas, the Departmental Commissioner instructed the district administration today. Optimal planning should be undertaken to ensure the completion of bamboo plantation for all governmental and semi-governmental offices in the district. Extensive public awareness campaigns, such as ‘One Tree for Mother’s Name’, should be conducted. Certificates of completion of works in accordance with the above-mentioned schemes should be promptly submitted to the relevant authorities. This information was provided by Dr. Pandey at this time.

Conduct a structural audit of the court building in Malegaon (District Washim) to prepare a report

Today, the departmental commissioner gave instructions to the district administration regarding the space allocation for the Malegaon district court building in Washim. Buvaneshwari S., the district collector of Washim, and Vaibhav Waghmare, the chief executive officer of the district council, along with officials responsible for the implementation of related operational mechanisms, were present at this time.

According to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Act, conduct a pre-monsoon inspection of buildings at risk and take appropriate action. Accordingly, a structural audit of the Malegaon District Court building currently in operation should be conducted to determine its suitability for use or how to proceed with the relevant report. Coordinate a decision by the district collector, chief executive officer, and chief district judge along with administrative officials of the court during the process of determining the definite procedure for space or building for the court.