Free Sand a Massive Scam, TDP Leaders Loot Rivers: YSRCP's Kakani Govardhan Reddy

YSR Congress Party Nellore district president and former minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy has launched a fierce attack on the Telugu Desam Party–led coalition, branding its much-publicised “free sand” policy as a carefully orchestrated scam that has opened the floodgates to illegal mining and systematic plunder of natural resources.

Addressing the media at the YSRCP district office in Nellore, Kakani alleged that sand, officially claimed to be free, is in reality being sold at more than five times the government-fixed price. He accused coalition MLAs of earning over ₹3 crore every month from each sand reach, turning riverbeds into private revenue streams for ruling party leaders.

To substantiate his charges, Kakani presented photographic evidence of large-scale illegal mining at the Virivuru and Surayapalem reaches of the Penna river. The images, he said, show sand excavation up to 10 metres deep using heavy machinery during midnight and early morning hours, in blatant violation of mining rules, National Green Tribunal (NGT) directions and environmental safeguards.

Drawing a sharp contrast with the previous YSRCP regime, Kakani said regulated sand tenders during YSRCP’s tenure generated nearly ₹700 crore annually, contributing around ₹3,500 crore to the state exchequer over five years. Under the current coalition, he alleged, the entire revenue stream has vanished into private pockets under the misleading label of “free sand.”

He claimed that illegal collections are being made through QR codes linked to private bank accounts, while buyers are issued handwritten slips instead of official permits. According to Kakani, tractors that should be charged less than ₹300 are being forced to pay about ₹1,250, while tippers and lorries—officially liable for ₹1,400 to ₹2,000—are being charged anywhere between ₹8,000 and ₹15,000.

Kakani further accused ruling party leaders of constructing makeshift roads inside the riverbed to enable round-the-clock mining, blocking irrigation canals, devastating the Penna river ecosystem and creating deep pits that have already claimed innocent lives. He alleged that those who question the sand mafia are being threatened or attacked, while police remain passive spectators, at times even seeking ministerial clearance instead of enforcing the law.

Claiming that audio evidence exists in which ministers are heard informally guiding smugglers rather than stopping them, Kakani demanded the immediate halt of illegal sand mining and the arrest of those responsible. He challenged the Chief Minister to prove his sincerity by producing the culprits before the public in handcuffs.

The ongoing sand plunder, Kakani warned, is draining state revenues, irreversibly damaging the environment and fully exposing the coalition government’s “free sand” slogan as nothing more than a massive, organised scam.