`Sand mining from dams could fetch Rs 500 cr a year\'

PALAKKAD: A sum of Rs 500 crore can be earned through sand mining from dams in Kerala in the next financial year, Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran said Saturday.



Addressing reporters here after visiting authorised sand mining spots at Malampuzha dam here, he said Kerala could collect Rs 5000 crore by sand mining from dams in five years.



About one lakh cubic metres of sand had been collected from specific sites at Malampuzha in the last two weeks. Sand mining would also be carried out in dams at Poomala, Peechi, Peppara and Thenmala before the onset of monsoon, he said.