TSMDC revenue zooms 35% to Rs. 413 cr in FY22

Demand for sand will increase after Dasara festival as construction activity is expected to pick up. We are geared up for it - Dr G Malsur, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, TSMDC

Hyderabad: BEATING the Covid 2.0 blues by a mile, the Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation Limited (TSMDC) recorded a stellar performance so far this financial year with its total revenues jumping up by 35.26 per cent to Rs 412.93 crore during April-August 2021 period. It sold 62.69 lakh cubic metres of sand in this period.

The corporation, which turned tech-savvy in handling sand quarrying and sales, generated total revenues of Rs 305.28 crore in the same five-month period (April-August 2020) in the last financial year.

Sand operations account for most of the corporation's revenues. During the five-month period, private sand sales contributed Rs 359.84 crore to TSMDC's kitty, over 50 per cent jump from Rs 239.83 crore in the same period a year ago.

In August 2021, its revenue from this source skyrocketed to Rs 46.81 crore, over three-fold jump from Rs 13.30 crore in August 2020. However, these sand sales exclude the sand it sold to government projects such as irrigation, 2BHK projects and Rythu Vedika works. Through these sales, it generated a revenue of Rs 48.41 crore so far in FY22. Income from other sources like exploration increased to Rs 4.68 crore from Rs 4.41 crore a year ago.

Though the growth came on a low base as Telangana, like the rest of the country it went through a stifling Covid-induced lockdown in the last financial year, it is a significant achievement in the wake of the second wave of Covid-19 sweeping the State and the country during this period.

"We have set a target to achieve Rs 851 crore in total revenues in FY22. This includes Rs 840 crore from total sand sales. We are on course to achieve this target and go beyond it,"Dr G Malsur, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, TSMDC, told Bizz Buzz. In the first five months of the current financial year, it achieved 48 per cent of its targeted revenue. The corporation's revenue was around Rs 790 crore in FY21.

The corporation expects the sand sales to further increase after Dasara festival. "Demand for sand will increase after Dasara festival as construction activity is expected to pick up. We are gearing up for this," the TSMDC chief said.

He further said that TSMDC made concerted efforts to see that there wouldn't be any sand shortage in Hyderabad and across Telangana during the rainy season. "Our strategy is to extract sand in summer and stock it in stockyards.

This stock is used during the rainy season. That's the reason why Telangana is not experiencing any sand shortfall," he explained.

This summer, sand prices came down to a five-year low of Rs 1,300 per tonne in Hyderabad, the main market, he added.

Inclusive growth

Though sand quarrying is fraught with risks, TSMDC is managing these operations smoothly as it has opted for an inclusive growth strategy.

The corporation has gone innovative, benefitting people residing in the vicinity of sand quarries. All the eligible working people in about 40 villages which are around the sand stockyards and quarries are employed for spreading sand or covering the tarpaulin on sand lorries. They get paid Rs 500 for each lorry. Thus, local people were paid a total of over Rs 70 crore for this activity between April 2016 and September 2020. The corporation is also operating sand quarries with the support of tribal societies, thereby benefiting large number of tribal people.