The Madras High Court on Friday directed the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government to respond to a public interest litigation petition seeking a SIT probe into illegal beach sand mining in the State.

The petitioner, a geologist, alleged massive corruption and illegalities in the mining of beach sand minerals such as Thorium-rich Monazite and other associate minerals in the State. Sand dunes were destroyed. The offenders should be brought to justice. The State machinery was subservient to the mafia involved in beach sand mining, he alleged.

The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice M.M. Sundresh, ordered that the notice would be returnable by March 17.

In the petition, G. Victor Rajamanickam (71) of Shanti Nagar in Thanjavur district, a doctorate in Mining Geology and working as Director, Centre for Disaster Management, PRIST University, Thanjavur, submitted that the mining of beach sand minerals was governed by the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act, Environment Protection Act, Atomic Energy Act, Water Act, Air Act and other allied laws, rules and regulations.

Dr. Rajamanickam submitted that the Centre’s directions under the Environment Protection Act were not being obeyed by the State government for the past 12 years. Orders obtained from civil courts and other courts were misused and misinterpreted by officials to allow mining of rare minerals in violation of the law.

He said that 59 leases were given to various companies within the Coastal Regulation Zone area. Several others did not have any mining lease. They were either involved in mineral separation or export of the final product. Companies were floated for evading tax and royalty. Minerals were shown as transferred or sold by the lessees to the companies for a low price.

The companies were interlinked with others and were also answerable to illegal beach sand mining and exporting atomic minerals, including Monazite, the petitioner said.