CHENNAI: Finding a strong case of collusion, corruption and connivance among politicians, officials and mining mafia in causing thousands of crores of rupees loss to the state exchequer in the excavation of beach sand minerals (BSM), the Madras High Court on Monday ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The court asked the CBI to investigate the entire process of granting of leases, transport permits, and inclusion of monazite, which has application in atomic energy generation, among minerals permitted for mining lease. The court also directed the agency to probe the “role of policy-making authorities” in conspiring with private mining firms, and directed that cost and royalty amount of Rs 5,832 crore be recovered from the companies for illegal mining.

A division bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and M Jothiraman pronounced the orders after hearing petitions, including the 2015 suo motu PIL on illegal mining of BSM in Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts. The court also ordered investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax, Customs and Excise and the Commercial Tax departments into the transactions of the private companies involved in the illegal mining of BSM.

“It is undeniably established from the discussions above, right from the grant of mining lease — approval, granting of licence, transport permits, illegal inclusion of monazite in mining lease — to lack of efficient monitoring and questionable royalty settlement proceedings, to lack of initiation of action and complete shedding of accountability, there appears a scheme of collusion, corruption and connivance among political and executive authorities, and private mining lease holders,” it said.

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