Port Blair, April 25: The District Administration of South Andaman has sounded a note of caution against mining operations in any area by any person not in possession of a mining lease or those operating not in accordance with the terms and conditions of mining lease granted under Mines and Minerals Development Regulation Act.

A release by the Deputy Commissioner (SA) said that provisions under the Act prohibits any person not having mining lease granted under the Act to transport or store or cause to be transported stored any materian. Contravention of the provision shall attract imprisonment upto two years or a fine extended upto Rs. 25,000/- or with both.

The rules under the Act authorizes all the revenue officers to check the illegal quarrying in the District beside designating the Deputy Commissioner as the competent authority to investigate and institute prosecution against violators. The causes which qualifies for penalty include, quarrying operations for any mineral without a quarry lease, undertaking of any quarrying operations outside the area granted under quarry lease, transactions relating to possession of minerals stock of unknown origin; or such minerals which cannot be satisfactorily accounted for. Penalty will be imposed for transportation, storage, trade or export of illegally raised mineral without lawful authority beside any other matter pertaining to illegal quarrying referred to Andaman and Nicobar Government by the Central Government.