The Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners Federation (TNSLOF), on Tuesday (July 28, 2026), welcomed the State Government’s three-month ban on transporting rough stones and their aggregates to other States.In a Government Order (G.O.) issued on Monday evening (July 27, 2026), the State government banned the transportation of rough stones including khandas, boulders, materials such as M-sand, metal jelly, ballasts, mill stones, hand chakais, and building and road construction stones to the other States for three months.Welcoming the announcement and thanking Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, the federation president Sella. Rajamani said that the Chief Minister has fulfilled the demand of sand lorry owners. “Around 80% of aggregates dug in Tenkasi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts are transported to Kerala. Likewise, aggregates reach Karnataka from Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts, affecting the environment and causing severe revenue loss for the government,” he said. Loading the aggregates in lorries above the permitted level had also become the cause of accidents and severe road damage in villages.Mr. Rajamani stated that, during the AIADMK and DMK regimes, multiple protests were conducted to ban the transportation of rough stones and its aggregates to nearby States and that it should be used for construction works in Tamil Nadu alone. But, a solution was not provided for the queries. “Recently, we submitted our demands to the Chief Minister and the Minister concerned, and now the government has temporarily banned the transportation,” he added.Addressing the revenue loss due to illegal transportation of rough stones, Mr. Rajamani said that while 1,000 lorries travel to nearby States with rough stones and their aggregates per day, only 200 lorries have the required permits. Mr. Rajamani also urged the government to extend the ban permanently, which would increase the government’s revenue and reduce the the rate of M-sand and other construction materials.“We will soon meet the Chief Minister, the Natural Resources Minister and officials to thank them for this action and will express our demand to extend this ban permanently. We also urged the government to open sand quarries, and now we are pleased to know that six sand quarries will be opened soon,” Mr. Rajamani added. Published - July 28, 2026 07:52 pm IST