The Tirunelveli Collector sent a show cause notice to a mining firm based out of Tirunelveli district, stating that it had come to light during an inspection that a semi-processing plant owned by a private minerals firm was situated within the Coastal Regulatory Zone in the triggered area at Thiruvambalapuram village.
No permission was obtained from the authorities concerned to operate the processing plant.
It was also found that seawater was illegally taken through giant pipelines for processing of raw sand in the semi-processing plant.
A huge quantity of raw sand was stored in patta lands in the area. Investigation revealed that processing of raw sand was actively on over a period of years. Giving details of the quantum of beach sand minerals exported between 2012-2017, the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Tuticorin Port, claimed that his office “was not in a position to comment as to whether the exported materials were legally mined or not…”
In the notice seeking explanation, the Collector summoned personal appearance of the company representatives on January 23, 2017 to submit an explanation for the quantum of 13,70,409.28 MT of raw sand/semi-processed minerals unlawfully stored in the patta lands in Thiruvambalapuram and Vijayapathi in Radhapuram Taluk, Tirunelveli District, and for the unlawful export of illegally mined 1,87,718 MT of sand minerals between 2012-2013 to 2016-2017 (up to 30.09.2016).
