Slap criminal case on sand miners: Madras High Court to Tamil Nadu government

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed that criminal action must be taken against individuals involved in illegal sand mining in Tamil Nadu.

Hearing a case concerning mineral theft, the High Court had earlier ordered the Commissioner of Geology and Mining to appear in person and offer an explanation.

In this context, the case again came up for hearing before the bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and C Kumarappan. The Commissioner of Geology and Mining, D Mohan, appeared in person.

The judges then asked him what measures had been adopted to curb the ongoing sand mining across Tamil Nadu.

Responding, the Commissioner stated that penalties were being imposed on those involved in illegal sand extraction. He also said that systems such as online registration and GPS-based monitoring were being implemented.

The judges observed that if a fine of Rs 1 lakh is imposed on those stealing sand worth Rs 1 crore, they would easily pay it. Therefore, merely levying fines is inadequate, they said, emphasising that criminal action must be initiated against sand looters.

Stating that mineral resources are part of the nation’s wealth, the judges asserted that their plunder cannot be permitted.

They added that if officials act in collusion with sand smugglers, controlling the problem would become impossible, noting that strong and decisive steps were essential in this matter.

They further observed that allowing illegal sand mining to continue would cause serious danger. Although certain preventive measures had been introduced, those were still insufficient, the judges said.

Following this, the bench directed the Commissioner of Geology and Mining to file a report on actions taken to curb illegal sand extraction, dispensed with his personal appearance for future hearings, and adjourned the case to next week.