Daijiworld Media Network- Chennai
Chennai, Apr 15: In a decisive move to bring accountability to years of unchecked illegal beach sand mining, the Tamil Nadu government has ordered the transfer of 1.4 crore tonnes of seized beach sand minerals to Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL), a Central public sector undertaking. This comes amid a widening probe into one of India’s largest mineral scams, pegged at Rs 5,832 crore.
The minerals — garnet, ilmenite, rutile, zircon, sillimanite, and others — were hoarded unlawfully across Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Kanniyakumari districts by private entities, according to state investigations. An official order dated April 8, 2025, by K. Phanindra Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary, Natural Resources Department, outlines the logistics of the mineral transfer from various sealed stockyards and godowns.
The seizure and transfer come in the wake of a Madras High Court directive, which validated findings from several high-level reports — including those of IAS officers Gagandeep Singh Bedi and Satyabrata Sahoo — that exposed extensive illegalities in beach sand extraction and hoarding. The court authorised the state to confiscate all raw and semi-processed stocks held by private firms and hand them over to IREL after valuation.
A reassessment in 2023 revealed that only 1.4 crore tonnes of minerals remained from the originally estimated 1.5 crore tonnes, suggesting that a significant amount was clandestinely removed. The government has now formed a high-level committee to assess the current value of the stock and coordinate its safe transportation under tight police security.
Multidisciplinary monitoring teams, involving officials from departments like Revenue, Survey, Geology, Atomic Minerals Directorate, and IREL, have been mobilised at the district level to supervise the operation.
In parallel, proceedings have begun to recover Rs 5,832 crore in unpaid royalty and mineral value from the companies responsible for illegal extraction between 2000 and 2017.
As part of the intensified probe, the CBI raided multiple locations on April 6 linked to V.V. Minerals and its promoter S. Vaikundarajan in Keeraikkaaranthattu near Thisaiyanvilai.
The court has also instructed the Union Government to investigate the financial dealings of involved firms, and if necessary, rope in agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department, and Customs for a deeper audit into suspected money laundering and tax evasion.
This sweeping crackdown marks a turning point in Tamil Nadu’s mineral governance, sending a strong message that long-standing environmental and financial violations will no longer go unpunished.