Nedumkandam: A suspension in quarry pass issuance by Tamil Nadu has triggered a severe shortage of construction materials, leaving crusher units and stockyards across the High Range idle.
It is learned that passes have not been issued for the past few weeks as contour mapping and drone surveys are being carried out in quarries across Tamil Nadu. Authorities are expected to take several more days to complete the survey process and resume issuing new passes.

Construction materials such as crushed stone, M-sand and metal are primarily sourced from quarries in Tamil Nadu and supplied to the High Range. These materials, transported in large quantities by tipper lorries, reach several retail yard units across the region, all of which are now facing a crisis.

With most quarries in the High Range remaining non-operational, the construction sector is now forced to depend on supplies from the low range. However, the high transportation costs from these locations are adding a significant financial burden, industry sources said. The shortage, coupled with rising costs, has pushed the construction sector in the High Range into a severe crisis.

Only a few quarries continue to function in the High Range, compared to several that were operational earlier. Although river sand mining was once permitted, it has been banned for several years. Stakeholders have long been demanding regulatory relaxations in the region’s mining sector, which remains entangled in legal and environmental constraints.

Demand is now growing for the regulated resumption of quarrying and sand mining, backed by environmental impact assessments, to revive the construction sector in the High Range.