VIJAYAWADA: Stating that two private firms took up beach sand mining in Andhra Pradesh prior to 2019, Director of Mines and Geology VG Venkata Reddy on Thursday said no heavy mineral beach sand mining was going on in the State at present after the Centre cancelled the beach sand mining leases in 2019. “There is no truth in the allegation of illegal transportation of monazite from AP,” he asserted.
Venkata Reddy said in the wake of the recent allegations of irregularities in beach sand mining, the Atomic Energy Department had ordered an inquiry through the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM). The facts will come out in the IBM inquiry and action will be taken against those indulging in illegal mining if the allegations of irregularities proved true, he said.
While refuting the allegations of illegal transportation of monazite minerals through beach sand mining in AP, he pointed out how it is possible to transport monazite minerals when beach sand mining operations were stalled in the State since 2019.
Stating that the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) sent 16 proposals to the Atomic Energy Department for taking up beach sand mining in AP, he said the AED appointed the APMDC as the prospective lessee to two beach sand deposits in 90.15 hectares at Bheemunipatnam of Visakhapatnam district and 1,978.47 hectares in Machilipatnam. Though the APMDC applied for approvals to take up mining in the two blocks, no mining activity has commenced so far as the process of getting approvals is not completed yet, he explained.
Recalling that the Centre issued directions to the State through a memo on March 1, 2019 to cancel the mining leases if the heavy mineral beach sand is found to have more than zero per cent of monazite residue, the official said all beach sand leases were cancelled by the Department of Mines as the percentage of monazite in the beach sand in our State is higher than the limit prescribed by the Centre. He further said the State government gave a detailed explanation to the AED officials through the Ministry of Mines (AP) on April 12 in the wake of the doubts expressed by the Centre on beach sand mining. x