Madras High Court seeks Tamil Nadu's reply on quarry operations plea

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday (August 13) directed the state government to file its response to a petition urging the State to take over quarry operations and appoint appropriate officials to monitor the operations.

A Division Bench comprising Justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel issued the direction on a PIL filed by advocate O Homerlal of Kanniyakumari district, seeking to ensure minerals are available to the public at reasonable prices and to prevent the illegal transportation of minerals from Tamil Nadu to other States.

The petitioner contended that financially influential private players who had taken poramboke lands on lease were excavating minerals beyond the permissible limits, causing permanent damage to the State's natural resources.

Though the Department of Geology and Mining had introduced transport passes to prevent such malpractice, minerals were still being transported illegally with the alleged connivance of police personnel and revenue officials, he claimed.

The petitioner stated that official quarry inspections and penalties for illegal mining were just an eyewash, because authorities collected very small fine amounts.

The situation was worse in Kanniyakumari district, as a large quantity of minerals quarried there were transported to Kerala, he contended. Private contractors were modifying tipper lorries to carry loads beyond their permitted capacity, violating RTO norms, and transporting the minerals to Kerala for huge profits.

At the same time, people in Tamil Nadu were finding it difficult to purchase M-sand and stones for construction due to the steep increase in prices, he said.

In view of the situation, the petitioner sought that the State take over the quarrying of rough stones, M-sand and P-sand from private players and entrust the operations to Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited (TAMIN), which is already involved in the excavation of minerals such as granite, graphite and limestone.

This would also increase revenue for the government, he contended.

He contended that his representations to the Secretary, Natural Resources Department, Chennai, and the Director of Geology and Mining, Chennai, seeking government takeover of quarry operations had not yielded any positive response.

Recording his submissions, the court directed the State to file its response and posted the case for further hearing in the first week of September.