TSMDC opts for inclusive growth

Hyderabad: Contrary to a perception that sand quarrying by the Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation (TSMDC) adversely impacts the interests of local population, the State-owned corporation has opted for an innovative inclusive growth strategy which is benefiting a large number of local people.

"We implemented an inclusive growth plan to provide a decent earning opportunity for the local population. Under this, locals are deployed to level sand in a truck once it is loaded. They handle tarpaulin wrapping tasks too. This work is provided on a rotation basis and so each one gets five days of work in a month for which a person gets an income of around Rs 10,000. Sometimes, the monthly income for each may go up to Rs 15,000. People who book sand pay this amount," Dr G Malsur, vice-chairman and managing director, TSMDC, told Bizz Buzz.

According to him, even farmers are doing this work. "When I visited the sand quarrying areas, farmers told me that they were happily doing this work as it was easy and did not require much time," he said. The corporation deploys tractors to sprinkle water on the sand to reduce dust. This work is also given to the local people. These works have turned into a major source of income for the people living in villages near sand reaches, he added.

Sand operations are the mainstay for the corporation as they account for over 90 per cent of its total revenues. In FY20, it earned a whopping Rs 792 crore from the sand operations. It has set a target to achieve Rs 2,000 crore from this segment, but the Covid crisis has played a spoilsport. The corporation has sand quarries spreading across Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Badradri Kothagudem, Mancherial, and other districts in Telangana. It extracted 1.34 crore cubic metres of sand in 2019-20.

"The sand quarrying and transportation activities are also providing self-employment opportunities for scores of people. A large of number of small hotels and eateries have mushroomed in the villages where sand is being extracted, and also along the route through which sand is transported," he said.

Further, several people set up small kiosks from which truck drivers get a printout of their sand booking before going for the loading. "The printout is not a must as truck drivers can inform the booking number and get their vehicles loaded. But they prefer printouts," he explained.

Sand quarrying is not only generating multiple employment opportunities for the locals, but also fueling growth on multiple fronts in the vicinity of sand quarries and beyond, the TSMDC chief said.