An advanced mining surveillance system deployed by the Union government to check illegal mining of major minerals across the country has reportedly unearthed a huge scam in Tamil Nadu. Estimates suggest that as much as 13.7 lakh tonnes of raw and semi-processed sand was illegally mined, transported and stored in Tirunelveli district.
Documents made available to The Hindu revealed that at least 1.87 lakh tonnes of beach sand minerals were exported in the last five years through the Tuticorin Port.
The system was developed by the Indian Bureau of Mines, in collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Application & Geo Informatics and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
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In a report sent to the State government, the Senior Assistant Controller of Mines, Udaipur, informed that 29 sites of extensive illegal mining within the 500-metre zone of mining lease were detected in the State. Of them, eight were located in Tirunelveli district. The Tirunelveli Collector ordered an inspection by the Deputy Director of Geology and Mining.
The Collector sent a show cause notice to the mining firm based out of Tirunelveli district, stating that it had come to light during the 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 plant.
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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 Collages in Radhapuram Taluk, Tirunelveli District, and for the unlawful export of illegally mined 1,87,718 MT of sand minerals between 2012-13 and 2016-17.