Chennai: The Madras High Court on Monday ordered the transfer of a case related to the illegal extraction and sale of beach ore and sand to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The case involves the unauthorised extraction and export of mineral resources like ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and monazite from the beaches of Tamil Nadu, which has caused significant financial losses to the state.
The bench, consisting of Justices SM Subramaniam and M Jyothiraman, directed the Tamil Nadu government to hand over all investigation reports to the CBI within four weeks.
The CBI will also investigate the role of political leaders, government officials, and private companies in the illegal activities, it said. The High Court warned that anyone violating its orders regarding the ore and sand extraction could face contempt of court charges.
Advocate Commissioner, V Suresh, appointed by the Madras High Court, submitted a report estimating a loss of Rs 5,832 crore due to the illegal extraction of sand. The High Court ordered that the amount be recovered from the private companies involved.
The issue dates back to 2013 when Ashish Kumar, the then District Collector of Thoothukudi, raised concerns about the illegal extraction of beach ore sand by private companies. The Tamil Nadu government, upon investigating the matter, banned the extraction of beach sand in the Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, and Kanyakumari districts.
This action followed a report by a committee, headed by IAS officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi, during the tenure of former Chief Minister Jayalalitha. The report revealed that the state has suffered massive financial losses due to the illicit sand extraction.
In 2015, Victor Rajamanickam from Thanjavur filed a petition in the Madras High Court, claiming the state had lost Rs one lakh crore due to illegal activities. The High Court later took suo motu cognizance of the issue. A series of investigations followed, with a committee headed by IAS Satyabrata Sahoo, which reported that 1.5 crore tonnes of sand were stored in private godowns. A subsequent investigation revealed that from 2018 to 2021, private companies had illegally exported around 1.6 lakh tonnes of mineral resources abroad, despite the ban.
