Meeting held ahead of godown inspection in 3 coastal districts

A consultative meeting comprising district officials was held here today ahead of the inspection at godowns, in three coastal districts, that were sealed for allegedly storing illegally mined beach sand.
The meeting was held at the district collectorate here and in Tuticorin and Kanyakumari districts as per the directive of Madras High Court bench in Madurai to submit a report on the quantum of illegally mined mineral sand stored in the go downs in these districts within two months.
Respective district collectors, other state and central government officials participated in the meeting.
The High Court had sought the report on a PIL filed alleging that illegal mineral sand mining had caused revenue loss to the tune of Rs one lakh crore.

The petitioner had submitted that though the state government had banned illegal mining of mineral sand, it continued unabated with the help of the government officials.
The meeting also decided to further inspect the go downs.
In 2013, an inquiry committee formed by the state government had gone into alleged irregularities in beach sand mining in Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts, and had submitted a report.
It was against this background that a PIL was filed alleging continuation of illegal sand mining with the help of the district officials.