CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government is planning a major overhaul of the Natural Resources Department through digitisation and online monitoring of operations to double the revenue generated by the department over the next few years.
According to sources, the department generated approximately Rs 4,500 crore in revenue during 2025-26. This included income from mining lease fees, major minerals, mineral-bearing land tax, royalties, and contributions to the green fund and payments to the District Mineral Foundation Trust.
“The state government expects that stricter regulation and improved monitoring mechanisms will help increase the revenue to around Rs 6,500 crore in the first year. The target is to gradually increase this to about Rs 9,000 crore over the next few years,” an official said.
Sources said that a substantial quantity of rough stone and other minerals extracted from both leased and non-leased areas currently falls outside the ambit of the mineral-bearing land tax. As a result, the government is also unable to collect royalties on a significant portion of these minerals.
Violations detected in 155 quarries
“The government will soon announce measures to ensure that all minerals extracted in the state are monitored through a digital weighbridge system integrated with a centralised online platform,” an official said.
The implementation of stricter regulatory measures could initially affect the sector’s performance, leading to slower growth in the short term before revenues begin to rise steadily.
A review meeting chaired by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay was held in this regard on Monday. The meeting was attended by the chief secretary, finance secretary, and secretaries of various departments.
A month ago, the government suspended operations at 67 stone quarries in Tenkasi, Kanniyakumari, Virudhunagar, and Madurai districts following the detection of various violations, including the extraction of minerals from areas outside approved lease boundaries.
Penalty proceedings have also been initiated against the operators. Of the 431 quarries inspected, violations were detected in 155. Authorities are in the process of imposing penalties on the remaining 88 quarries where irregularities were found.
“A total penalty of Rs 78 crore has been imposed on stone quarries. The penalties were levied by the respective revenue divisional officers in accordance with the provisions of the TN Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959,” the official said.
Some quarry owners have challenged the penalties through appeals, which are currently under consideration, the official added. During 2024-25, the state government earned `433 crore from lease concessions granted for major minerals, including limestone, lignite, marl, graphite, atomic minerals, and magnesite.
15% drop in movement
TN’s ban on transportation of construction aggregates to neighbouring states for three months has halted movement of 15% of such materials
