Inspection of beach sand mineral processing units and godowns at 15 places in the district commenced on Thursday after Collector M. Karunakaran formed three teams for this exercise.
Problem started for errant beach sand mineral exporters in 2013 after then Thoothukudi Collector Ashish Kumar sent a report to the State Government detailing the illicit mining of priceless minerals and exporting it through Thoothukudi seaport after processing it.
Subsequently, the Tamil Nadu Government sent a team, led by senior civil servant Gagandeep Singh Bedi, to inspect the mines and processing units and beach sand mineral mining was completely banned in 2013 even as the survey was going on.
When the report submitted to the government by Mr. Bedi was not tabled, cases were filed in the court seeking directions to the government to make it public. Though the report was submitted in the court, it was yet to be made public.
After one of the litigants, who approached the court for making Mr. Bedi’s report public, decided to withdraw the petition, the State Government, on the instruction of the Madras High Court, appointed a team led by Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation Chairman and Managing Director Satyabrata Sahoo that recently inspected the warehouses around Thoothukudi where beach minerals had been stocked.
Moreover, three teams were also formed to inspect the godowns at Thoothukudi, Vilaaththikulam and Tiruchendur taluks and the teams are likely to submit their reports before May 30.
Discussion
Mr. Sahoo also held discussion with Dr. Karunakaran on commencing the inspection at the beach sand mineral processing units and also in the warehouses. Subsequently, the Tirunelveli Collector has formed three teams, each led by Sub-Collector of Cheranmahadevi Akash, Revenue Divisional Officer of Tirunelveli Maithili, and District Supplies Officer Punniyakotti, to inspect the processing units attached with godowns at 15 places.
Moreover, surveyors and representatives of Atomic Minerals Directorate, Begumpet, Hyderabad, have also been included in the teams that commenced the inspection on Thursday.
Before deploying the teams for inspection, Dr. Karunakaran gave instructions to the teams on the steps to be scrupulously followed for finding the exact stocks of garnet, ilmenite, rutile etc. in the processing units and also in the stock yards so that the quantum of beach sand mined after the ban came into force in 2013 can easily be calculated.
“The teams will submit their report within ten days,” Dr. Karunakaran said.
After getting instructions from the Collector, the teams left for the sites selected for inspection under the coordination of P. Muthuramalingam, District Revenue Officer.
