A similar suspension of mining should be ordered in Andhra Pradesh which accounts for over 30% of the nation's monazite and other atomic mineral reserves. IREL was debarred from mining placer sands in Andhra Pradesh while IREL has been asked to hand over monazite to Toyota Tsoshu under the 'rare earths' agreement between India and Japan.
Kalyanaraman
Published: September 17, 2013 15:48 IST | Updated: September 17, 2013 15:49 IST
TN govt. suspends beach mineral mining, orders probe
DIPRTamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa
Probe to look into alleged irregularities in 71 mineral quarries in the southern districts
Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday ordered a probe to ascertain if any irregularities have occurred in 71 large mineral quarries engaged in extraction of beach minerals in the state and suspended operations till its completion.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, following up on her action against allegations of illegal mining of beach minerals like garnet, Ilmenite and rutile in Tuticorin district, ordered a probe in large mineral quarries in Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Madurai and Tiruchi districts.
“A policy decision on large mineral quarries would be taken after the receipt of the report on these quarries,” she said in a statement here.
A special team headed by Revenue Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi, which also included six sub-committees and comprising top officials from revenue, environment and forests besides geology and mining that went into charges of illegal beach sand mining in Tuticorin, would study the 71 quarries.