: An official probe has revealed that V.V. Minerals, owned by mining baron S. Vaikundarajan, had illegally transported 9.65 lakh tonnes of heavy minerals during 2014-15 and 2015-16, well after the ban on beach sand mining and issuances of transport permits for raw sand and minerals had come into force in September 2013.
The Tirunelveli District Level Committee, which conducted the probe, has also held that V.V. Minerals and another firm – Transworld Garnet India – also belonging to Mr. Vaikundarajan, have indulged in “large-scale violations of illegal mining and transportation” of raw sand and heavy minerals such as garnet, illmenite and rutile in the last 15 years, starting from 2000-01. In the immediate past two financial years, Transworld Garnet India had transported around 1.06 lakh tonnes of heavy minerals. On the overall operations of the two companies in the 15 years, the committee, headed by District Collector M. Karunakaran, stated that the quantum of about 41.08 lakh tonnes of raw sand/minerals, as available with V.V. Minerals on March 31 this year, was regarded as “illegally mined, illegally transported and illegally stored.” Similarly, in respect of the other company, the figure was around 18.5 lakh tonnes, which was termed as illegal.
The panel, which met on October 18 and November 9, reviewed the finding of the Radhapuram Taluk Level Committee that absolved, in June, the two companies and two other lessees of any wrongdoing. Two individuals - V.S. Kumaresan, half-brother of Mr Vaikundarajan, and D. Dhaya Devadas, who runs a firm, Indian Garnet Sand, had given petitions against Mr Vaikundarajan and his associates. The Hindu made attempts to get Mr Vaikundarajan’s response to the district level committee’s conclusions but till the publication of this news story, there was no word. The district level committee criticised the taluk level committee for “non application of mind” for having agreed with the submission of V V Minerals on the quantum of minerals mined and transported by the company in the given 15-year-long period.
In respect of one of the lessees, it even pulled up the Radhapuram panel for not examining the issue of minerals mined and transported without knowing the meaning of “raw sand” and “minerals.” While coming down on the taluk committee for having failed to make “surprise inspection” of the coastal areas for prevention of illegal mining and transportation of minerals, the district committee pointed out that the seizure of four vehicles by Cheranmahadevi sub-collector in August 2016 was a “material proof for continuous illegal mining by the companies.” Sources in the Tirunelveli district administration say that valuation of illegally mined raw sand and minerals has not been carried out as the issue has not yet been resolved.
