The Madras high court on Wednesday, 29 November, ordered the shutting down of all sand quarries in Tamil Nadu within the next six months, as per a report by L Saravanan in the Times of India.
While passing the order, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court also said that no new sand quarry should come up in the state.
The court also directed the government to keep an eye on illegal transporting of the river sand.
The order was passed by Justice R Mahadevan on a petition filed by MRM Ramaiya Enterprises Private Limited Managing Director MRM Ramaiya, who sought the court’s intervention to sell sand imported from Malaysia.
While passing the order in the public interest, the judge said there is a need to protect the environment, rivers, and farmers in the state.
The judge also issued directions to the state government to release the Malaysian sand from the Tuticorin port, the report says.
On 9 September, the petitioner said she had entered into an agreement with All Works Trading Limited, Singapore, to import one lakh tonne of sand.
Following this, the petitioner's company imported 55,443 metric tonne of sand from the Sungai Pahang river in Kauntan city, Malaysia, by paying the GST. The sand is currently at the Tuticorin port.
When the company tried to sell the sand in the state, the government refused it and registered an FIR against it. The petitioner then approached court for it to direct the TN government to allow transport and sale of the imported sand in the state.
The state government in their petition stated that the Malaysian sand could not be sold or transported in the state without permit.
Suresh Krishn, Past President, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, Chennai Chapter, told The Hindu, “Construction projects worth ₹10,000 crore of investment will be in jeopardy if we do not have access to quality sand.”
(This article was originally published on The News Minute and has been republished here with permission.)
(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to fit@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)