Chennai: The Madras high court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a probe into alleged large-scale illegal mining of beach sand by private mining companies in the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu that has caused losses to the tune of ₹5,832 crore to the state exchequer and inflicted irreparable damage on the coastal ecology and environment.
A division bench comprising justices SM Subramaniam and M Jothiraman, while hearing a batch of petitions, including a suo motu PIL, directed the federal agency to register criminal cases and launch investigation. It directed the CBI director to constitute special investigation teams (SITs), consisting of officials with expertise and high integrity to conduct the investigation into this scam.
“It has become undeniably clear that from the granting of mining leases and approvals to the issuance of transport permits, the illegal inclusion of monazite in mining leases, inefficient monitoring, arbitrary royalty settlement proceedings, and a lack of accountability among officials, there is clear evidence of collusion, corruption, and cooperation between political leaders, executives, and private mining lessees,” the bench observed.
“…the CBI is directed to register criminal cases and launch investigations. Also, any pending cases relating to the issues discussed in this judgment registered by the Tamil Nadu Police is directed to be transferred to the CBI for enabling effective investigation. All related case files shall be handed over to the CBI within a period of four weeks,” it added.
The probe must focus on the processes surrounding granting mining leases and transport permits and include monazite—a phosphate mineral—in the approved minerals list.
Observing that the political nexus to the massive scam cannot be ruled out, the bench directed the federal agency “to investigate into the alleged political nexus, and the role of the policy making authorities in conspiring with the private mining companies shall be investigated.”
Considering the high economic value of the illegal mining and export and the scale of financial loss to the state exchequer, the bench directed the Centre to scrutinise all the financial and commercial transactions of the respondent mining companies dealing with beach sand mining, and refer the matter for investigation to the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department, Customs and Excise Department and Commercial Taxes Department and by any other competent agencies as required.
In the order, the court also referred to reports from IAS officers Gangandeep Singh Bedi and Satyabrata Sahoo and amicus curiae V Suresh — all of which confirmed rampant illegal mining in the southern coastal districts, especially Tirunelveli, Tutocorin and Kanniyakumari.
The court also directed the Tamil Nadu government to proceed with efforts to recover ₹5,842 crore from illegal miners for unpaid royalties and penalties related to the extraction of valuable minerals such as garnet, ilmenite, rutile, and zircon. It also ordered that the raw sand and semi-processed sand stored in the warehouses of private miners in the three districts be handed over to the Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), a central undertaking.
According to the affidavit submitted by the Tamil Nadu government, between 2018 and 2022, private miners illegally transported 1.6 million tonnes of beach sand minerals despite a transportation ban in place since 2013.
Recognising the matter’s potential implications for national security, the court called for a multi-disciplinary probe.