BJP State President and Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi today reacted sharply to the question of not getting cheap sand to the common people in the state. He said that there is an outcry for sand in the state. Arbitrary prices are being charged from the pockets of the common people for sand.

The sand used for construction work in Ranchi is usually brought from Silli, Bundu and Sonahatu. When sand leaves the ghat, its price is around ₹5,000, but by the time it reaches Ranchi, its price goes beyond Rs 45,000.

He said that the ninefold increase in price in a distance of just 60 km is not a coincidence, but the result of an organized illegal business. In which the Chief Minister himself, mining mafia, transporters, officials and brokers are involved. Heavy money is collected from the general public through illegal entry at sand ghats, illegal passing during transportation and black marketing.

He said that out of about 440 sand ghats in Jharkhand, only 31 are legally operated. As a result, the common man has to buy sand many times more expensive for construction. Every person involved in this game is earning his share, but the public has to pay its real price.

He said that the Enforcement Directorate should take cognizance and demolish the illegal sand business system of thousands of crores running in Jharkhand, so that adequate sand can be made available to the general public at an affordable price and the loss of revenue can be reduced.

Meanwhile, State BJP spokesperson Ajay Sah has expressed his strong reaction to the Jharkhand Prison and Correctional Services Bill 2025 passed by the Jharkhand government.

He said that one of the main reasons for the deteriorating law and order in Jharkhand is the ineffective prison system. The current prison system does not create any fear in the minds of criminals, which has made it difficult to control crime. Unless the criminals fear going to jail, crimes cannot be curbed.

Sah said that in Jharkhand, the police, home guard and prison departments all come under the Home Department. The directorate system is in force in the police and home guard, but the prison administration is still based on the British-era inspectorate system. He said that after the recommendations of the National Police Commission (1980), almost all the states changed the police administration from inspectorate to directorate, but the prison system of Jharkhand is still running under the colonial system.

Citing the Model Prison and Correctional Services Act, 2023 and Model Prison Manual, 2016 issued by the Government of India, Sah said that in these documents, it has been recommended to abolish the inspectorate system and adopt the directorate system to make the prison administration effective. He said that if the directorate system is implemented, there will be a vast improvement in the security and administrative efficiency of the prisons.

The BJP spokesperson, referring to the Justice A.N. Mulla Committee constituted in 1983, said that this committee had recommended the appointment of a DG (Director General) level officer in the prison administration, but the Jharkhand government ignored this recommendation. Sah also said that when programs related to prison administration are held at the national level, DG level officers from other states participate, while only IG level officers from Jharkhand go. Due to this, the position of Jharkhand seems weak and second-rate, which is humiliating for the state.

Ajay Sah appealed to the Jharkhand government to implement the directorate system in the prison administration and adopt the national level recommendations, so that the law and order of the state can be implemented effectively.