Private beach resort penalised for excavating natural sand on seafront at  Mamallapuram

The Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) has decided to impose an ‘environment compensation’ of ₹2.60 lakh on a private beach resort on the East Coast Road after it was found to have excavated natural sand in the seafront area at Mamallapuram two years ago.

During an official inquiry, the resort admitted to have carried out the activity unknowingly and said it restored the seafront eventually.

Site inspected

Following complaints about digging of natural sand in the seafront in the area near the resort, Chengalpattu district officials conducted an inquiry and submitted a report. Officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board inspected the site in September 2023 and reported that about 5-foot depth of natural sand excavated was dumped up to a height of 10 feet along a 126-metre stretch. It was an activity prohibited under provisions of Para 3 (xiii) of the CRZ Notification 2011,.

Eventually, the TNSCZMA decided to issue a show cause notice to the private resort. In the meantime, the resort said the cleaned sand was temporarily stocked along the seafront and subsequently used to refill and restore the shoreline to its original condition. During the restoration, TNPCB officials inspected the site. They said the refilling and restoration work was completed in September 2023.

Personal hearing

On the directions of the Director of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, officials inspected the site in June this year and reported that the shoreline was clean with a natural slope and no excavated sand was seen at the site. After it was decided to levy an environmental compensation, the resort management was called for a personal hearing in July this year.

At the hearing, the resort management said the activity was carried out unknowingly, but it had restored the seafront to its original position by September 2023. However, it was decided to levy an environmental compensation. The compensation was calculated on the basis of the norms issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, with the pollution index, the number of days of violation, the rupee factor, the scale of operation, and the location taken into account.