Tamil Nadu Plans to Boost Revenue From Mines

CHENNAI: The natural resources department has achieved Rs. 1,079 crore in mineral revenue in three months - from April to June - this year, as against Rs. 999 crore during the same period last year, showing a rise of about 8 per cent, raising optimism that the department would earn more revenue in the financial year since the new policies have been launched only now.

The government is exploring new technologies at the international level in mineral exploration, extraction, sustainable supply chain, recycling, manufacturing and value addition of mineral resources.

The government is seriously reviewing the existing policy framework governing the mining sector. Natural resources minister T.K. Prabhu had announced the formation of Tamil Nadu Mineral Resources Development Corporation Limited to boost government revenue. The government also hopes to raise its revenue through the mineral bearing land tax.

Till now, private players have been involved in mining and earning huge profits amidst allegations of irregularities resulting in losses to the government, besides degradation of the environment due to indiscriminate quarrying.

The minister said the new corporation would carry out mining activities, separate minerals, improve quality, import minerals, do value addition and marketing, besides easing investments in the mining department.

The Supreme Court, in its judgment in July 2024, has held that the state government is competent to tax on mineral-bearing lands. The mineral-bearing land tax collection was started in April last year and Rs. 2,265 crore was collected during the last financial year, and Rs. 599 crore in the first three months of this financial year from April.

The government is also taking measures to plug the leakages and to protect the environment through detection and transportation of illegal mining. District-level task forces, headed by the Collectors, have been formed to curb illegal mining and transportation of mineral, besides taluk-level task force committees, headed by tahsildars, comprising officials from revenue, police, mines, pollution, forest and water resources department.

Besides, regional flying squads of the department of geology and mining are functioning in Madurai, Tiruchy, Villupuram, Salem, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli. In addition, special task forces had been constituted from time to time to keep an eye on illegal mining, unregulated crushing units and interstate illicit transportation of minerals.

The government has banned the transportation of rocks and minerals to other states for three months and detected 147 illegal quarries in the financial year 2025-26. However, 212 illegal quarries were found in the first three months of this financial year, which is 25 per cent more than what was detected in the previous financial year. The government has registered 79 cases in the first three months and this is about 44 per cent higher than the previous year’s.

Besides, 1,307 vehicles were seized in the first three months of this financial year from April. In the previous financial year, the average number of vehicle seizures was 324 and this has gone up to 435 in the first three months of this financial year, showing an increase of 34 per cent in the monthly average of seizures. The government also filed 1,082 FIRs and plans to boost the enforcement activities with the support of technology.

The technology includes unmanned aerial vehicles, integrating weighbridges with the mineral management system portal and installation of GPS in vehicles transporting minerals. The department uses drone technology in the geo-fenced leasehold areas to carry out surveys to measure the quantity excavated, besides identifying the boundary and depth violations. The violations of the boundary and depth gives an accurate measure of excess quarrying activities. So far, 1,085 quarries have been surveyed and violations were detected in 315 quarries, leading to a penalty of Rs. 300 crore in fines.

In undulated terrain and water-logged areas, advanced LiDAR-mounted drone surveys would be implemented in future to improve the accuracy and reliability in the assessment of the depth of quarrying. Integrating weighbridges with the mineral management system portal is another measure to find the irregularities.

In the first phase, 49 weighbridges were integrated with the portal in Ariyalur, Perambalur, Tiruchy, Dindigul, Karur, Salem, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Virudhunagar districts. The department is planning to instal weighbridges by the minor mineral lessees and the bridges would be integrated with the portal to ensure accountability and transparency in mineral transportation.

GPS devices will be installed in the vehicles carrying minerals, for monitoring them. Till now, the officials said GPS devices have been installed in 12,138 vehicles and linked to the portal. Works are being carried out to integrate a real-time monitoring facility through Google Maps with the mineral management portal.

An integrated digital mineral management platform would be formed to monitor the activities of the geological and mines department on a real-time basis. The mines would also come under close monitoring with the setting up of a control and monitoring centre with modern facilities to bring the activities of mines under real-time monitoring.

A drone section would be formed in the geological and mines department to prevent illegal mining and to ensure scientific mines management. It would help to know the quantity of minerals taken out from areas under lease. With the help of satellite imagery, the places where illegal mining activities are taking place would be detected.

Besides, a monitoring section would be formed in the geological and mining department to investigate the allegations against the officials and take action within a time-frame. It would coordinate its activities with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption and other investigation agencies.