Status quo on mining beach minerals
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
: The Madras High Court Bench here on Wednesday ordered maintenance of status quo until January 21 with regard to mining garnet, ilmenite, rutile and other beach minerals from 19.30 hectares in Vembar and Periyasamipuram villages in Vilathikulam taluk of Tuticorin district.
Status quo ordered
Justice V. Ramasubramanian ordered the status quo with a rider that it must be maintained only if the lessee Industrial Minerals India, a private company represented by its Managing Director S. Vaikundarajan, had not obtained all statutory clearances required for mining the minerals.
The interim order was passed following a writ petition filed by a Chennai-based private firm Bengal Bay Beach Mineral through its counsel N. Dilip Kumar.
The petitioner firm had alleged irregularities in the lease granted by the State Government in favour of Industrial Minerals India.
It urged the court to quash two Government Orders passed in this regard on August 17 along with a consequent direction to the State to grant the lease in favour of the petitioner company.
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