New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu government on Friday made it clear in the Supreme Court that it will not allow the sand imported and lying in Tuticorin port to be used within the state and it had no objection in the importer taking it to Kerala.
Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for TN, made this submission before a Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta hearing a special leave petition filed by the state against a Madras high court judgment directing stoppage of all sand quarrying activities in the state within six months and restraining the government from opening any new quarries. On February 5, the apex court had stayed this order.
During the resumed hearing on Friday, Rohatgi while seeking time to file reply to the response of the importer, submitted that the state had no objection for the sand to be used in Kerala. He said the high court ought not to have passed the order without ascertaining the demand and supply position of sand in the state.
Senior counsel Ranjit Kumar appearing for the importer said he had a valid license to import sand as per the Government of India rules and he was entitled to use the sand wherever he wanted, including in Tamil Nadu. The use cannot be restricted to Kerala, he said.
The high court had directed the state government to periodically close all the quarries of granites and other minerals except that of "jelly" in order to maintain ecological balance. It also asked the state to establish permanent check-posts within the state with the officers equipped sufficiently to curb and prevent the illegal mining and transportation of sand; the check post officers shall maintain the record of all the vehicles crossing by; the state shall also fix camera at the check posts and connect the same with a common server to ensure that illegal mining and transportation is curbed.
The state said the petition arose from a dispute raised by an importer of sand who was not permitted to transport imported silica sand. The importer had imported the sand against the state's law and regulations regarding the storage and transportation of imported sand within the state of Tamil Nadu and the court passed directions.
The SLP said the stoppage of sand quarrying in would have a disastrous effect in as much as all the construction activities in the state will come to a complete standstill because of the absence of sand, which is a basic raw material. The high court has failed to appreciate that the river sand imported from other countries is costlier. The supply of rivers and would considerably get reduced, as it would depend on the handling capacity of the port to stock and evacuate the river sand.
