Exempt sand from new Act: Truck operators to Rajasthan govt

JAIPUR: Rajasthan sand truck operators today appealed to the state government to exempt sand from the purview of a newly introduced legislation which empowers the district collectors to fix a rate for certain consumers' commodities to check black marketing.

Under the new Act, district collectors have been authorised to decide rates of the sand under Rajasthan Goods (Control of Production, Supply, Distribution and Trade and Commerce) Act which was recently introduced to check black marketing and hoarding of certain essential commodities.

The operators claimed that the new rates of sand fixed by district collectors were impractical and they were facing hardship and losses in the trade due to the new regulation.

"Bajri (sand) should not be covered under the Act because the new rates fixed by collectors under the Act are absolutely impractical, unjustified and we are facing losses," President of All Rajasthan Bajri Truck Operators Welfare Society Naveen Sharma here said.

"We are not able to sell bajri in reasonable rates," Sharma said adding that, "The government has spared lease holders and small operators are being targeted who are the main sufferers."

"If our demands are not met in a week, we would reach the Secretariat with our trucks and hand over their keys to the chief minister as we can not operate in losses," he said.