CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has reserved the orders in the case pertaining to illegal mining of beach sand minerals (BSM) in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts.
Following completion of oral arguments and submission of written arguments, a division bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and M Jothiraman reserved the orders on Monday. The first case was filed in 2015 as a PIL petition.
It was later converted into a suo motu case by taking into account the enormity of the illegal mining. The state formed two committees headed by IAS officers Gagandeep Singh Bedi and Satyabrata Sahoo to look into the illegal mining.
The court appointed an amicus curiae to assess the quantum of minerals mined and the loss caused. The accumulated figures point to 1.50 crore tonnes of sand mined illegally, causing loss of Rs 5,832 crore to the government.