Sri Vijaya Puram, Dec. 18: The District Administration, South Andaman, has taken strict action against the illegal extraction and transportation of minor minerals in violation of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Minor Mineral Rules, 2012, and the Land Revenue and Land Reforms Regulation, 1966.

A case was registered and notices issued to the defaulter. However, he failed to appear before the authorities or justify his actions. Consequently, a penalty of ₹1,24,88,000/- (Rupees One Crore Twenty-Four Lakhs and Eighty-Eight Thousand) has been imposed on the quarry operator for the illegal extraction and transportation of minor minerals, calculated as per Section 34 of the A & N Islands Minor Mineral Rules, 2012, and Section 201(6) of the ANI Land Revenue and Land Reforms Regulation, 1966 and instructed to deposit the penalty amount with the Cashier, District Office, South Andaman, within seven days of receiving the order. Failure to comply will result in the penalty being recovered as arrears of land revenue, and necessary entries will be made in the Record of Rights (RoR) of the violator's landholding.