TN coasts bleached of over Rs 2,000 crore

In a major revelation, Tirunelveli district administration has confirmed that 18.25 lakh metric tonnes of beach sand minerals (BSM) worth Rs 2,372 crore were illegally exported after the Tamil Nadu government banned mining of BSM in September 2013.

For the first time, the government has officially acknowledged and revealed the quantum of illegal BSM mining that was rampant in three southern coastal districts —Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari. This was revealed in a statement issued by Tirunelveli collector Dr M Karunagaran, who has cracked the whip on illegal BSM export, and against whom a malicious campaign was allegedly launched by sand mining baron S Vaikundarajan of VV Minerals and two others through social media. The collector has also filed a complaint against a television channel reporter and the publisher of a local Tamil daily newspaper alleging that he had amassed huge assets. Politically well-connected Vaikundarajan and his family virtually hold a monopoly over the BSM business in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The issue of alleged irregularities in mines of beach minerals came to the fore after the then Tuticorin Collector Ashish Kumar, who sought a high-level inquiry into it, was shunted out in August 2013. Following the widespread protest, then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa formed a special team headed by IAS officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi to inspect and report the illicit quarrying of BSM in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Kanyakumari, Madurai, and Tiruchy.

"From September 2013 to November 2016, the illegal quarrying was done by some companies who resorted to illegal exports. The quantum of minerals illegally exported are as follows. M/S VV Minerals to a tune of 9.65 lakh metric tons, M/S Transworld Garnet to a tune of 1.06 MT, M/S Beach Mineral Company to a tune of 3.37 MT, M/S Indian Ocean Garnet Sands to a tune of 1.06 MT and M/S Industrial Mineral Company to a tune of 3.11 MT.

These exports were made without any valid transport permit issued by the competent authority and in total violation of ban order of Tamil Nadu government," said the collector. According to the statement, a total quantum of 18.25 lakh MT of BSM was exported. Considering the market price of Rs 13,000 per MT, the total cost of illegal exports would run to Rs 2,372 crore, a government official said, noting that international market price would much higher.

After its attempt to export BSM through Thoothukudi and Chennai port was foiled due to the public notice issued by the Customs, VV Minerals attempted to export the mineral through Cochin port. Again, Tirunelveli collector communicated with the port and customs authority to thwart the companies attempt to illegally export the BSM. On August 8 last year, sub-collector of Cheranmahadevi in Tirunelveli apprehended three lorries and a loader of VV Mineral carrying illegal BSM and an FIR was filed against the company owner, it said. Another consignment of BSM headed for Bellary in Karnataka was caught in Shoolagiri n Krishnagiri district on December 7 last year.

"Rather than applying for the license under the Panchayat Raj act," Karunagaran told DNA, "the beach sand mineral companies are threatening by arm twisting tactics like shop shut down. I urge the public not to believe the false information spread by them.

What are Beach Sand Minerals?

Mineral sands that contain concentrations of the important minerals, garnet, rutile, ilmenite, zircon and monazite. Garnet is used as a gemstone, besides being employed as an abrasive; ilmenite is a major source of titanium and rutile, a commercially important titanium mineral, is used in porcelain and glass manufacturing. Monazite is a primary ore of several rare earth metals, most notably thorium, cerium, and lanthanum. Thorium is a highly radioactive metal and could be used as a replacement for uranium in nuclear power generation.