Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government is preparing a major overhaul of the Natural Resources Department by introducing a comprehensive digital monitoring system aimed at curbing illegal mining, improving transparency and significantly increasing revenue from the mining sector over the next few years.
The initiative, which was reviewed at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay earlier this week, is expected to bring all mineral extraction activities under an integrated online monitoring platform.
Senior officials, including the Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary and secretaries of key departments, participated in the review.
According to official sources, the department generated nearly Rs 4,500 crore in revenue during the 2025-26 financial year through mining lease fees, royalties, mineral-bearing land tax, contributions to the Green Fund and payments to the District Mineral Foundation Trust.
The government believes that stricter regulation, combined with technology-driven monitoring, could raise annual revenue to around Rs 6,500 crore in the first phase, with a long-term target of Rs 9,000 crore over the next few years.
Officials said a significant quantity of rough stone and other minerals extracted from both leased and unleased areas currently escapes the mineral-bearing land tax and royalty framework, resulting in substantial revenue losses.
To address this, the government plans to introduce a digital weighbridge system linked to a centralised online platform that will track every load of minerals extracted across the state. Authorities acknowledge that tighter enforcement may initially slow mining activity and affect the sector’s short-term performance. However, they expect the reforms to improve compliance and ensure sustained revenue growth in the long run.
The government’s intensified crackdown on violations has already led to strict enforcement measures. Last month, operations at 67 stone quarries in Tenkasi, Kanniyakumari, Virudhunagar and Madurai districts were suspended after inspections revealed illegal mining, including extraction beyond approved lease boundaries.
Officials inspected 431 quarries, detecting violations in 155 of them. Penalty proceedings have been completed against several operators, while action is under way against the remaining offenders. So far, penalties totalling Rs 78 crore have been imposed under the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959. Some quarry owners have challenged the penalties through appeals, which are currently under consideration.
The government had earned Rs 433 crore during 2024-25 from lease concessions granted for major minerals such as limestone, lignite, marl, graphite, magnesite and atomic minerals.
Meanwhile, the state’s recently announced three-month ban on transporting construction aggregates to neighbouring states has reduced the movement of such materials by around 15 per cent, as the government intensifies efforts to regulate the mining sector, prevent illegal extraction and plug revenue leakages.
(IANS)
