Don’t give approval for opening new river sand quarries, Anbumani tells Environment Impact Assessment Authority

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss urges SEIAA to stop new river sand quarries due to ecological damage and rule violations.

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Monday wrote to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority urging it to ensure no permissions are given to set up new river sand quarries. Besides, he called for revoking existing permissions for river sand quarries and shut them down.

In a letter to the Chairperson, SEIAA, Dr. Anbumani said sand was being mined in violation of rules and in excessive quantities, causing severe ecological damage in all operational quarries.

“Now, it is reported that the government plans to open more than 20 new sand quarries across 13 districts. It is also reported that your Authority has issued a No-Objection Certificate for a quarry in Kiliyanur village, Cuddalore district. The government is reportedly in the process of obtaining similar approvals for the remaining sites. You are well aware of the urgent need to protect Tamil Nadu’s environment,” he said.

Dr. Anbumani said the claim by Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department’s policy document 2024-25 was ‘blatant lie’.

“According to the 2024–25 policy document of the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department, there are currently 23 operational sand quarries. Sand has been sold at ₹1,000 per unit, generating ₹22.21 crore in revenue in 2023–24. This means that 2,22,100 units of sand were extracted during the year. That translates to just 9,656 units per quarry per year. This means that only 26 units—about 10 truckloads—are said to be extracted per day. Given that there are typically over a thousand trucks waiting at each quarry site, it is obvious that the government’s claim is a blatant lie,” he said.

He further said, “Enforcement authorities have found evidence of mining over an area of 987 hectares—five times the permitted size. While the Tamil Nadu government claims only 4.05 lakh units of sand were extracted over two years, studies show that 27.70 lakh units were actually mined—seven times more. The Water Resources Department, despite having obtained your approval, has blatantly violated the conditions laid down by your Authority.”