The shortage of sand bricks was impacting the construction of houses, including Indiramma houses in Nalgonda district.
In the first phase of Indiramma houses, 17,247 Indiramma houses were sanctioned to the eligible families in Nalgonda district, and they were in different stages.
The spurt in demand for sand bricks led to their shortage in the district and also increased their price, which simultaneously hiked the cost of construction. The clay lacked lime stones required for the preparation of sand bricks. The owners of brick kiln units were also facing problems in getting suck clay as per the demand for bricks in the market. Over 300 brick kilns were doing nearly `400 crore in business per year in the district.
Due to the shortage in the market, the price of one sand brick was increased to `12 from the earlier `8, which was a 50 per cent increase. It caused a financial burden on the beneficiaries of Indiramma houses by increasing the total cost of their construction. About 6,000 to 8,000 sand bricks are required for the construction of each Indiramma house. The increase in the cost of bricks will cause an additional financial burden of `32,000 on each beneficiary for the construction of the Indiramma house. The beneficiaries of the second phase of Indiramma houses cannot avoid the burden.
The owners of brick kiln units should pay `45 per cubic metre of sand to the government for transport of the clay from the irrigation tanks. But the shifting of the sand from the irrigation tanks was being strongly opposed by the locals.
Red Bricks manufacturers Association Nalgonda district president K. Jalander Reddy said the brick kiln units should be permitted to get the required sand from the local irrigation tanks, keeping in view the required bricks for Indiramma houses. If we bring the sand from a long distance, it will increase the price of the bricks. He urged the state government to run clay reaches at the irrigation tanks, where the clay is suitable for brick manufacturing, in the district like sand reaches. It would also help in checking the illegal transport of clay from the irrigation tanks. Closure of the brick kiln units due to lack of sufficient clay was also a reason for the shortage of sand bricks in the market, he added.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
