Tamil Nadu: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court warned on Thursday that strict action would be taken if officials filed negligent reports regarding encroachments and illegal mining in the Amaravathi River.
The Amaravathi River is being encroached upon, illegal mines are being operated, and sand is being smuggled. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court received a letter requesting appropriate action to stop these activities.
Based on this letter, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court is suo motu (on its own initiative) investigating this matter.
The petition came up for hearing before a bench of Supreme Court Justices G.R. Swaminathan and P. Pugazhenthi on Thursday. At that time, the response submitted by the Karur District Collector stated that “130 vehicles were seized for illegal sand smuggling in the year 2024-2025. In addition, 91 cases were registered.”
Following this, the judges issued the following order:
During the hearing of this case on the 21st of last month, it was stated that 148 cases were registered for the illegal transportation of river sand and other minerals from 2024 to 2025, and 191 vehicles and 31 bullock carts were seized. However, the figures in the petition filed on Thursday have changed. If it is found that the reports submitted to the court were filed negligently by the officials, strict action will be taken. The Karur District Collector should respond to the discrepancies in this report. The judges stated that the hearing of the case has been adjourned until the 12th.
