Tamil Nadu will stop issuing transport permits and transit passes to vehicles carrying minerals without approved GPS devices from November 1, tightening the state’s monitoring of mineral movement and enforcement against illicit and excess mining.
The Geology and Mining Department has announced that every vehicle or lorry transporting minerals must install a GPS device integrated with MiMAS, the state government’s online mineral management portal. The device must comply with Automotive Industry Standard AIS-40 and carry a SIM card and a unique identification number linked to the portal.
The system will transmit a vehicle’s live location during transit to both lorry owners and government authorities. The department said the tracking arrangement is intended to improve oversight of mineral-carrying vehicles and help identify unauthorised or excessive extraction and transportation.
The deadline follows several extensions. The government had earlier fixed September 29 as the installation deadline, but more than one lakh of the 1.40 lakh registered vehicles had not installed the devices at that stage. The department subsequently revised the vehicle list after removing several duplicate registrations.
A Arumuganainar, Joint Director in the Department of Geology and Mining, told the Times of India that the revised list contains around 1.10 lakh vehicles. However, only about 50,000 are actively transporting minerals, making them the department’s first priority. Of this active group, approximately 30,000 vehicles have installed the required devices, while the remaining operators have been urged to complete installation before the deadline.
The department has approved 37 vendors from whom vehicle owners can purchase the devices. Lorry owners said the price had initially exceeded Rs 15,000, creating resistance to the mandate. Following discussions, the device is now available at around Rs 4,000, according to the report.
The GPS requirement also follows a Madras high court order in March calling for mandatory installation. The delayed implementation has therefore involved both an enforcement decision by the state and continuing negotiations over the cost and practical rollout of the equipment.
From November 1, goods vehicles transporting minerals will be subject to intensified checks. Arumuganainar said lorry owners could face legal action if they failed to install the devices, in addition to being denied permits and transit passes. The department’s next immediate step is to enforce the GPS-linked permit condition for the active mineral transport fleet.
