“M-Sand Policy” a policy to promote manufactured sand

Why in News?
The Rajasthan government has brought a policy on manufactured sand (M-sand). It will provide an industry status to the units producing manufactured sand for construction work.

It will reduce the dependence on riverbed sand.

Facts:

What is Manufactured Sand(M-Sand)?

• Manufactured sand (M-Sand) is a substitute of river sand for concrete construction. It is produced by crushed hard granite stone.
• The crushed sand is of cubical shape with rounded edges, washed and graded to as a construction material. The size of manufactured sand (M-Sand) is less than 4.75mm.

Usage of Manufactured Sand

• Due to the fast-growing construction industry, the demand for sand has increased tremendously causing deficiency of suitable river sand in most parts of the world.
• Hence, to avoid the depletion of good quality river sand for the use of construction, the use of manufactured sand has been increased.

Benefits of M-Sand:

• It is easily available and has less transportation cost.
• It does not contain organic and soluble compounds that affect the setting time and properties of cement, thus the required strength of concrete can be maintained.
• M-Sand does not have the presence of impurities such as clay, dust and silt coatings which help in producing better quality concrete.
• Furthermore, it can be dust-free and the sizes of m-sand can be controlled easily so that it meets the required grading for the given construction.
• It eliminates the environmental impact that occurred due to the lifting of natural sand from the river bed.

Source: The Hindu