The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has roped in experts from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur (IIT-K) to assist in its ongoing investigation into allegations of excessive sand mining in Tamil Nadu, official sources said on Sunday.
Investigators from the ED have sought the support of scientists of ISRO and IIT-K to assess the area and quantum of sand mined along riverbeds in the State. As part of the probe into allegations that a huge quantity of sand was excavated in violation of environmental clearance norms and sold illegally to sand lorry owners without any record, evading taxes, the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and searched designated sand mining sites in six districts on September 12, 2023.
After the searches, which lasted for about three days, the Central agency had seized incriminating documents, including fake receipts and counterfeit QR codes, that pointed to irregularities in the sale of sand. Investigators also seized storage devices of CCTV footage and hard disc from computers used for entering data of transactions at sand stockyards.
The ED had also sought data on the quantity of sand mined and sold in the last two years.
Satellite images
The sources further said that ISRO was in the process of providing satellite images of the sites over a period of time, based on coordinates made available by the investigating agency. The images will help in assessing the depth of sand mined, which experts from IIT-Kanpur would use to measure the quantum.
The scientific investigation will help the ED calculate the quantum of sand mined, assess the quantity mined illegally and the corresponding loss to the exchequer, the sources added.
Meanwhile, a top official in the Water Resources Department — Engineer-in-Chief and Chief Engineer General A. Muthiaya — who had sought details on illegal sand mining from senior engineers in-charge of sand mining and sale in the State, has gone on leave. Another official has been given charge of his position, the sources said.
