Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa has warned that the government would deal with an iron hand those who indulge in illegal sand mining in the state.
“My government will not allow misuse of river beds for sand mining and will deal with an iron hand, whoever indulges in illegal sand mining,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
Referring to a recent incident in which a village assistant was attacked by five people involved in illegal sand mining in Tirupattur, when he prevented them from illegal sand mining, she said police has taken action against them and asserted that her government would not tolerate illegal sand mining.
Recalling that sand mining was brought under the control during her previous regime following a court order and it was ensured that sand mining was not exploited by anti-social elements, she said the regulations were given a go by the previous DMK regime during 2006-11.
After the Madras high court banned minding of sand in Tamiraparani river for five years, her government was acting against illegal sand miners, she said.
In the last one year, 4,173 illegal sand mining cases have been registered and 5,033 people involved in illegal sand mining were arrested. Police have confiscated 5,501 vehicles used for carrying illegal sand, she said.
The government had earned a revenue of Rs 197 crore from the sale of sand in the last one year compared to `603 crore earned during five years in the DMK regime.
This clearly showed that illegal sand mining was rampant during the five years, she said.