In an bid to streamline sand mining, the state government on Saturday proposed to identify new quarries after getting State Environment Impact Assessment Authority’s endorsement and also take steps to promote the use of manufactured sand.
The decision was taken at a high-level committee meeting chaired by chief minister J. Jayalalithaa at the secretariat in the wake of the Madurai Bench of the Madras high court’s direction that all quarries in the Cauvery which are over five years old must be closed down in three months, while new quarries can be started only after getting environment impact assessment certificate and no objection certificate from PCB.
Besides implementing the court’s direction, the meet was also convened to ensure sand was made available to construction work without let up. Ms Jayalalithaa said district collectors and all departments concerned would ensure sand mining was carried out without affecting the environment.
It has been decided to identify new quarries and obtain State Environment Impact Assessment Authority’s approval and also stop illegal mining in unapproved areas so as to prevent shortage of sand.
Further, the use of manufactured sand, made from crushed stones, will be promoted by issuing necessary licences to private players to start crushing units besides permitting existing stone crushing units to manufacture it, Ms Jayalalithaa said in a statement here.
Loans will be arranged through Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation to purchase necessary equipment, if required, she said. This will ensure that sand is available for people at low rates.
Finance minister O. Panneerslevam, power minister Natham R. Viswanatha and chief secretary Debendranath Sarangi were among those who attended the meeting.