Three Panels Have Been Formed By The Tamil Nadu To Reassess Stockpiled Minerals

The Tamil Nadu government has planned to organize three district-level committees to re-assess the resources supplied and sealedat several locations in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Kanniyakumari districts, following complaints of illicit transfer of beach sand minerals through sealed premises. According to senior public worker Satyabrata Sahoo, the number of minerals in concern was 1.55 crore tonnes in 2017-18.

P. Saravanan, Regional Joint Director of Geology and Mining, Tiruchi, will coordinate a 14-member committee for Tirunelveli,V. Aruna, Joint Director, Chennai, will coordinate a 10-member committee for Thoothukudiand a four-member committee for Kanniyakumari.

According to an instruction released by the Industries Department early this week, the committees do not have any members functioning in other southern districts, with the exception of a few officials from Madurai, Sivaganga, and Dindigul. A month has been allocated to the committees to deliver their reports.

According to an instruction released by the Industries Department early this week, the committees do not have any members functioning in other southern districts, with the exception of just several officials from Madurai, Sivaganga, and Dindigul. A month has been allocated to the committees to deliver their reports.

The ruling required the three Collectors to install CCTV cameras in all sealed locations where beach sand minerals were kept or stored, as well as to provide complete police protectionto covered and non-sealed godowns containing the resources. Tiruneveli Collector Vishnu informed the government on July 27 that, in view of the discoveries, he offered proposed the formation of a committee, consisting of representatives from various departments, with each of the seven villages where the commodities had been housed.

Thoothukudi Collector K. Senthil Raj attracted the government's attention to the arrest of five cars transporting ilmenite ore to a company in the SIPCOT complex a month afterward. Around the identical time, Director of Geology and Mining L. Nirmal Raj noted to the government that he had faced criticism about sealed establishments in Tiruneveli and Thoothukudi districts being broken open and minerals being unlawfully transported to some other company in Thoothukudi for titanium dioxide manufacturing.

Meanwhile, the Industries Department's directive noted that the government had prohibited mining and transportation of garnet, ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and sillimanite in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Madurai, and Tiruchi districts via directions passed in August and September 2013. In April 2017, in response to the Madras High Court's orders, the government formed a special committee, led by Mr. Sahoo, to analyze the minerals held in various locations throughout the three districts. Mr. Sahoo presented the High Court with a full reporta year later.