No illegal mineral quarries in Tamil Nadu: Govt tells MHC

CHENNAI: There is no illegal mineral quarry in the state and strict action will be taken if any, the Tamil Nadu Government told Madras High Court on Monday.

Sivalingam from Marakkanam, Villupuram district filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Madras High Court seeking a ban on illegal mineral quarries in the state.

The plaintiff stated that there are various minerals in the government poramboke land and private lands in Marakkanam taluk and the district administration has leased the mineral resources in government-owned places in Nalmukkal and Keel Arangunam villages to individuals for a short term contract (five to ten years).

The petitioner alleged that even though the lease period in Nalmukkal vilage is over in 2019 itself, the contractors are using life-threatening explosives to break rocks and extract mineral resources illegally.

"Due to the illegal quarries, the government is suffering huge financial loss. When complaining about this to the concerned authorities, there is no action. The court should issue an order to close and ban the mineral quarries which are operating illegally after the expiry of the lease period, " the plaintiff stated in the petition.

When this Public Interest Litigation came up for hearing before acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, the government pleader Muthukumar informed the court.

"There is not even one illegal mineral quarry running in the state and action was taken against the illegal quarries," the state said.

Hearing the arguments, the division bench ordered the state government to file a report and adjourned the hearing for two weeks.