TDP accuses YSRCP govt of handing over sand resources to Tamil Nadu mafia baron

Amravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], May 15 : Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national spokesperson K. Pattabhi Ram on Sunday accused the present chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy's government of handing over all the state sand resources to Tamil Nadu sand mafia baron J. Sekar Reddy and his partners as part of a pre-planned conspiracy.
In a TDP official release, Pattabhi Ram said that the Jagan Government gave a sand contract to JP Power Ventures which in turn gave a sub-contract to Turnkey Enterprise, which belonged to Sekhar Reddy's close associate Bosani Srinivasa Reddy.
Addressing a press conference here, the TDP leader said that all sand bills in AP right now were being given in the name of Turnkey and they were not accepting any sort of digital payments and online invoices. Each day, lots of cash was being illegally mobilized and containers of currency were crossing the AP borders.
Pattabhi termed it unfortunate that the Tamil Nadu workers were now being seen all over the sand reaches and in its transportation. The sand mafia of Sekhar Reddy has completely taken over the overall sand mining in AP. Incidentally, Bosani Srinivasa Reddy's name also figured in the IT raids in 2016 in TN when Rs 100 crore cash and 120 kg gold bars were seized from Sekhar Reddy.
"Sekhar Reddy was undoubtedly the Benami of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. It was only because of this, that the AP sand mining was halted till the Turnkey Enterprises company of Sekhar Reddy's partner Bosani Srinivasa Reddy got around March 2021. Even the Jagan Government gave sand tenders to JP just a week before Turnkey Enterprises was registered in January 2021," added Pattabhi.
He further said that sand rates went beyond the reach of the common man in AP after Jagan Reddy became CM.
"The previous free sand policy under the Chandrababu regime was cancelled immediately after the YCP came to power. Now, a tractor of sand costs Rs 7,000 as against Rs 1,500 in the TDP rule. A lorry of sand costs Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 as against Rs 5,000 during the TDP regime," he said.
The TDP leader accused the Mines minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy of misleading people in spite of holding a constitutional post.
"While the AP people were suffering greatly because of the sand mafia, Mines Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy was busy making all false statements. He made wrong statements that they were implementing online sand transactions and thousands of cases were booked against the sand mafia," Pattabhi said.
He said that Minister Peddireddy was defending Turnkey and Tamil Nadu workers' involvement in AP sand reaches.
"Peddireddy was saying that TN workers had specialized expertise in sand mining just like UP workers were famous for centering and West Bengal workers for road bending. The Minister should accept that the TN Sekhar Reddy mafia was very well trained in looting sand resources like nobody else," the TDP leader added.