THOOTHUKUDI: Stone quarry operators in the district have been circumventing the mechanisms in place to monitor illegal mining by allegedly obtaining digital transport permits for faraway destinations, thereby extending the validity of their duration, and exploiting them to conduct multiple trips, according to officials.
To curb the exploitation of minerals, activists in the region have called for the expeditious installation of GPS devices in all heavy vehicles involved to track the destinations of the minerals.
Thoothukudi has more than 60 stone quarries and crusher units that supply rough stones, jelly stones, m-sand, p-sand, gravel, and earth for the various industrial and infrastructure development projects. Stone quarry operators must obtain e-permits for transporting materials or an e-transit pass for hauling minerals from crusher units. The permits could be obtained from the Mineral Management System (MIMAS) portal, run by the Department of Geology and Mining, by paying seigniorage fee, district mineral foundation fee, and mineral bearing land tax.
Following the digitalisation of the permits in March 2025, vehicle passes are capped with a time limit based on the distance to the destination specified in order to prevent their reuse. Meanwhile, an order from the Madras High Court, a few months ago, stayed the granting of transit passes for hauling crushed minerals from crusher units.
Several stone quarries in the district, on the other hand, while obtaining transport permits, provide a destination 400-500 kilometres away, in central Tamil Nadu or Kerala, to keep the permits from expiring for several hours, and reuse the same one for multiple trips within the district, claimed sources.
An official from the mining and geology department said that they have no provision to penalise quarry operators for not delivering the minerals at the destinations mentioned in the permits. According to officials, none of the 79 vehicles with GPS devices installed have been integrated with the MIMAS portal.
An official communication has been sent to all stone quarry operators to install GPS devices on vehicles and integrate them with the MIMAS portal on or before February 28, and upon failure to do so, transport permits will not be issued, said an official.
Besides, another official told TNIE that the portal imposes a time limit to deliver minerals and it takes into account the traffic congestion on the respective routes. However, the time limit is calculated based on the average speed of a car, which has been disputed by the logistics owners, who claim that it is impossible to deliver the load within the time limit, he added.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, a flying squad, consisting the regional transport officer and the assistant director of mines, seized six heavy vehicles heading to different destinations, and levied a total penalty of Rs 3.8 lakh for overloading.