About 30 acres of land destroyed due to activities of illegal sand winners are being reclaimed by the Ketu South Assembly to pave way for the planting of trees and other developmental projects.

This was disclosed by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ketu South, Maxwell Lugudor during the first day of the reclamation exercise. 

According to Mr Lugudor, the exercise which started a few days ago, is meant to help put the lands in good shape and make good use of them to avoid more harm being caused to the residents, especially those closer to the areas affected by the illegal sand winning.

"As you can see, all the machines are working to reclaim the land destroyed by sand winners with impunity and that is what we are doing. We decided to do it all over, so that we put the degraded land back to shape,” Mr. Lugudor said. 

According to the Ketu South MCE, the Forestry Commission will be involved in the planting of trees such as acacia and coconut trees to help the locals earn some income from the produce of these trees.

Mr. Maxwell Kofi Lugudor, about four months ago, during an inspection of the lands destroyed by the activities of sand winners, warned contractors to desist from engaging in illegal sand winning within the municipality.

Mr Lugudor noted that contractors without valid documentation will be prosecuted.

He said the law permits sand winning activities by companies and individuals who have met the proper requirements from the Minerals Commission.

Mr. Lugudor urged residents to help the Assembly identify illegal activities meant to destroy the environment. 

He also urged the contractors to go through the right process in winning the sand, stressing that Ketu South Assembly will make sure that all destroyed lands are reclaimed and protected.