Environmentalists say TN losing several hillocks due to m-sand mining

According to environmentalists, Tamil Nadu is losing several hillocks to indiscriminate mining for m-sand, cautioning about an inevitable disaster in a water-starved state. Against the backdrop of the Madras high court’s Monday ruling, leading the government to crack down on illegal quarrying, they aim at showing how the scam-tainted granite quarries of a decade ago adversely affected the ecosystem. Government sources say that the actual volume cannot be quantified because of the lack of a monitoring system, but estimate the 840 crushing units, sourcing raw material from 700 quarries, generate 2 lakh tonnes-4 lakh tonnes of m-sand every day. Environmentalists say destroying hillocks will negatively impact the hydrological cycle and biodiversity. Environmentalists say that river sand mining is more serious, but sand gets replaced naturally if left unmined for a few years, adding that hillocks once destroyed, cannot be recreated. Additionally, private quarries fetch the state just Rs 600 crore in royalties yearly. In 2019, the Madras high court quoting records said that Tamil Nadu’s hillocks and mountains are being sold to other states. Ramjee Nagarajan, an Environmental scientist, said that quarrying hillocks impact watershed and weathering processes. Biodiversity will be strongly disrupted due to such activities. Besides, the ripples may hit the water courses resulting in fluoride contamination of groundwater. S Yuvaraj, Secretary, Construction and Real Estate Industry Coalition, said that the number of crushing units raised in the last five years after the severe shortage of river sand in 2017. But, the issue is that they cannot quantify the volume of m-sand created in the state and provided to Karnataka and Kerala. Public Works Department officials said that river sand available for construction in the state could last three years if m-sand-producing quarries are closed, while government sources said measures are being implemented to observe quarries from district collectorates through CCTV cameras. Image Source Also read: TN construction body urges state to regulate bldg material prices