kiranmai tutika I amaravati

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials of the Mines and Geology Department to conduct a comprehensive study on the state’s mineral wealth and explore value addition strategies to boost revenue. Chairing a review meeting at the Secretariat on Friday, the Chief Minister emphasized that adding value to minerals would generate significant additional income for the state.

Officials informed Naidu that the department has set a revenue target of Rs 3,320 crore for the 2025–26 fiscal year through major and minor minerals, marking a 34% increase over the previous year. They noted that manganese and other major minerals alone contribute over 72% of the total revenue. The Chief Minister directed them to assess the total worth of Andhra Pradesh’s mineral reserves and prepare a vision plan similar to Odisha, where mineral value addition yields over Rs 50,000 crore annually. Naidu stated that Andhra Pradesh too could potentially generate Rs 20,000-30,000 crore if value addition policies are effectively implemented. He also instructed officials to clear 6,500 pending mining applications.

In a move toward social inclusion, Naidu instructed the department to frame guidelines for granting mining leases to the Vaddera community and related societies. He proposed reserving up to 15% of mining leases for these backward groups and asked for detailed proposals to be placed before the next Cabinet meeting. The Chief Minister emphasized that the policy should ensure economic benefits for the Vadderas by offering up to 50% concession on seigniorage and premium charges. He also directed that the mining lease policy be linked with MSME promotion to help the community establish small-scale enterprises.

Going into the details, the Vaddera community has traditionally been stone cutters for centuries. However, many have had to change to agricultural labour and to other minor occupations, due to the mechanisation, which was usually dominated by upper caste groups. Now the State Government, with the latest proposal to reserve 15% of mines to the community, it could be a game changer. Currently over 7 lakh people from Vaddera community exist in Andhra Pradesh, who are predominantly in Rayalaseema region. Even in neighbouring states Telangana and Karnataka another 10 lakh people are there, who were likely migrated from Andhra for better livelihoods.

Naidu ordered the use of satellite imagery and drone technology to monitor mining activities, evaluate extraction levels, and ensure transparency. He instructed officials to use analytics tools for regular assessments, especially in the case of heavy minerals like beach sand, which have high value-addition potential. 

He also called for a detailed study on iron ore supply for the proposed Kadapa Steel Plant. Reiterating that the government’s free sand policy should directly benefit the public, Naidu ordered strict implementation to prevent misuse. Officials reported that 66.5 lakh metric tonnes of sand had been stocked for the current season, with 43 lakh tonnes currently available across stock points. The Chief Minister stressed the need to make sand easily accessible at minimal transport cost and instructed periodic inspections and strengthened CCTV surveillance along inter-state borders.