justices S M Subramaniam and G Arul Murugan said authorities concerned are bound to follow the above guidelines, and added that quarry operations must be transparent and free of irregularities, especially in

‘Strictly follow guidelines on quarrying, sale of sand’: Madurai Bench of Madras HC

However, the government counsel told the court that the guidelines are being properly followed by the officials and that they are ready to take action if a detailed complaint is submitted to them.

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently directed the state government to scrupulously follow the guidelines prescribed in the government order (G.O.), dated January 6, 2022, including regulations for operating sand quarries and selling sand in government depots.

A bench of justices S M Subramaniam and G Arul Murugan said authorities concerned are bound to follow the above guidelines, and added that quarry operations must be transparent and free of irregularities, especially in maintaining digital records. The bench gave the direction on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by Salem East District Sand and M-Sand Lorry Owners Welfare Association president L Karthick in 2024.

Karthick stated in his petition that as per the above government order, quarried sand must be sold only to the customers who had registered through the government’s web portal — TN Sand App — on a first-come, first-served basis. However, some authorities in charge of respective government depots in Tiruchy, Karur and Thanjavur districts are illegally selling the sand in the black market to unregistered customers or by making fake registrations and misappropriating the sale proceeds, causing loss to the government exchequer, he claimed.

The petitioner accused the government of deliberately discontinuing the Investigator App, which helped verify the genuineness of the permit slips issued for transporting sand. He requested the court to restore the web portal and the application, and direct the government to allow the sale of sand at the quarry site instead of at the government depots. He further a sought direction to the government to strictly comply with the guidelines mentioned in the G.O.

However, the government counsel told the court that the guidelines are being properly followed by the officials and that they are ready to take action if a detailed complaint is submitted to them.

Hearing this, the bench disposed of the petition by directing Karthick to submit a consolidated complaint, with further directions to the authorities to look into it. Also, the bench directed the government to strictly adhere to the guidelines in the G.O.