Nearly four out of five trucks registered to transport construction minerals in Tamil Nadu remain without GPS tracking devices, prompting another extension of the installation deadline despite a Madras High Court order aimed at tightening monitoring of mineral movement
CHENNAI — Nearly four out of five trucks registered to transport construction minerals in Tamil Nadu remain without GPS tracking devices, prompting another extension of the installation deadline despite a Madras High Court order aimed at tightening monitoring of mineral movement.
Only 30,000 of the 1.4 lakh trucks registered on the Mineral Management System (MIMAS) portal had vehicle location-tracking devices as of September 30. The remaining 79 per cent are yet to comply with the requirement to cover vehicles carrying M-sand, P-sand and other construction aggregates.
The Geology and Mining Department has now extended the deadline to October 31, following representations from transport associations seeking additional time. The original March 31 deadline had already been extended, while the government had separately announced that vehicles without GPS devices would stop receiving mineral transit passes from September 1.
Linking vehicle trackers to MIMAS is intended to strengthen oversight of mineral transportation by recording where trucks load material and tracking their movement. Such records could help authorities identify supplies originating from unauthorised quarries and investigate illegal extraction and transport violations.
However, the slow rollout has drawn criticism from lorry owners, who have questioned the government’s commitment to enforcing the system. G. Ganesh, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Lorry Owners Federation, said the cost of tracking devices had fallen sharply, from Rs 15,000 to Rs 3,700.
He said several vendors could supply more than one lakh devices meeting the AIS-140 standard, arguing that availability should not justify further delays.
The government’s reluctance to implement the requirement raised questions about its resolve to curb illegal mining, he said.
Department officials, however, said the approximately 37 authorised suppliers lacked sufficient stocks to equip all remaining vehicles within a short period.
An official said the latest extension followed requests from several associations. Officials also said action was being taken against people generating fraudulent mineral transit passes with fake QR codes.
A dedicated number for complaints about quarrying violations would soon be introduced and linked to the department’s control room in Chennai.
The enforcement challenge comes amid a substantial gap between construction demand and authorised quarry output.
Official estimates put Tamil Nadu’s average daily requirement for construction aggregates at around 5.25 lakh units, compared with permitted quarry production of only 1.2 lakh units, highlighting the need for closer regulatory scrutiny.