CHENNAI: No vehicle or lorry shall be permitted to transport minerals without installing GPS devices integrated with MiMAS, the state govt’s online portal for mineral management, the Geology and Mining Department has announced.The devices, which must be of Automotive Industry Standard (AIS)-40, will be equipped with a SIM and a unique ID connected to the portal.It will relay the live location of the vehicle at the time of transit to lorry owners as well as authorities, helping curb illicit and excess mining.While the govt had earlier set Sept 29 as the deadline to install the devices, it followed extensions as more than 1 lakh out of 1.40 lakh registered vehicles were yet to install the devices. Vehicles without the devices will not be issued transport permits and transit passes from Nov 1.Joint Director, Dept of Geology and Mining, A Arumuganainar, told TOI that the list of registered vehicles were revised last month, removing several duplications, and that hardly 50,000 vehicles were actively transporting minerals.“The revised figure stands at around 1.10 lakh. But only around 50,000 vehicles are actively transporting minerals, and they are our first priority. Of them, around 30,000 have installed the devices. The remaining have been urged to install them by tonight,” he said.The govt has approved a list of 37 vendors from whom vehicles could purchase the devices. The setting up of the device follows a series of deadline misses over the proposed rate of the device, which initially exceeded Rs 15,000, even as a high court order in Mar called for mandatory installation.After several deliberations, the device is now available at around Rs 4000, lorry owners said.Arumuganaigar further said that all goods vehicles transporting minerals will be subjected to intense checks, and lorry owners will also face legal action in case of non-installation.
