Coimbatore has emerged as the frontrunner among Tamil Nadu's districts in equipping mineral transport trucks with Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, with 4,200 vehicles already fitted as the state's 31 October mandatory installation deadline draws closer. The district leads the state in absolute numbers of tracked vehicles, underscoring its significance as a key mineral transit corridor.

Scale of the Drive

Coimbatore has roughly 7,000 trucks engaged in hauling minerals — including stones, gravel, and red soil — making it one of the larger mineral-transport hubs in the state. With devices installed in approximately 60 per cent of the fleet, around 2,800 trucks still need to comply before the month-end cutoff. District officials have been in active discussions with truck owners to accelerate the remaining installations.

A district government official confirmed that truck owners had been briefed on the urgency. 'Truck owners have been instructed to speed up the installation process. So far, 4,200 vehicles have been fitted with GPS devices,' the official said, adding that steps were under way to complete the rollout in the remaining vehicles before the deadline.

Why Coimbatore Is Central to the Crackdown

The district's prominence in this initiative is no coincidence. Coimbatore shares a border with Kerala and functions as a primary transit route for mineral resources moving into the neighbouring state. Authorities have established 13 check posts along the Coimbatore-Kerala border specifically to curb the illegal movement of minerals. The Mineral Resources Department, the Revenue Department, and the police are jointly enforcing measures against unauthorised transportation, making GPS tracking a critical tool in their oversight arsenal.

State-Wide Compliance Gaps

While Coimbatore leads the pack, compliance in other Tamil Nadu districts remains uneven. According to available data, some districts operate fleets of as many as 12,000 mineral transport trucks but have installed GPS equipment in only around 2,000 of them — a compliance rate well below Coimbatore's 60 per cent. The state government's directive, applicable across all districts, mandates GPS fitment in every truck transporting minerals by 31 October, with authorities warning of enforcement action against non-compliant operators.

Enforcement and What Comes Next

The GPS initiative is part of a broader push by the Tamil Nadu government to tighten oversight of the mineral supply chain, curb illegal extraction, and close revenue leakages linked to untracked vehicle movements. The convergence of three departments — mineral resources, revenue, and police — signals that post-deadline enforcement is expected to be coordinated rather than piecemeal. With the deadline under three weeks away, officials in Coimbatore are prioritising outreach to the remaining non-compliant fleet operators to maintain the district's leading position and ensure full compliance.