A Rs 15,000 crore-plus granite quarrying scam has been unearthed in Tamil Nadu, which has, apparently, led to the shunting out of Madurai district collector U Sagayam, who recommended action against those allegedly involved in it. If allegations are to be believed, firms involved in the scam include those connected to Union Minister M K Alagiri’s son Durai Dayanidhi and those owned by people close to the AIADMK.
After conducting a probe based on allegation that granite worth several thousand crores was being mined from Melur taluk near Madurai without permission, the then collector Sagayam prepared a report addressed to the Industries Secretary on May 19 naming Olympus Granites, PRP Exports, Sindu Granties as some of the firms that were found extracting much beyond what was permitted under the license they had procured. Four days later, he was transferred out of Madurai.
Sagayam’s report said the loss, including the value of resource and revenue that should come to the state government as quarry licence fee, would be over Rs 15,000 crore. He sought scientific investigation into the scam.
Olympus Granites is said to be partly owned by Durai in partnership with one S Nagaraj. When the then industries minister, S P Velumuni, raised the charge that the firm was involved in illegal quarrying, Alagiri challenged him to prove the charge or resign from the Assembly. Velumuni inspected the quarry leased to the company and repeated the allegations. The documents were forged to show that Durai had quit the company a year before AIADMK came to power, added Velumuni.
PRP Exports, run by P Palanichamy, claims to be the largest granite processing unit in the country. During the last general election, there were rumours that Palanichamy was approached by a senior AIADMK leader to contest against Alagiri, but he refused to oblige.
Sagayam said there were 91 quarries in operation in the area, besides the three that the district authorities investigated and recommended a detailed assessment of their operations. These companies, criticised by Sagayam in his 13-page report, not only mined more than what was permissible under the contract but also encroached upon government land, water bodies, irrigation channels, roads, land allotted to the Dalits. Government officials were party to the crime, he said. He said the government agency, Tamil Nadu Minerals Ltd, should directly do the mining which would ensure that there was no illegal activity, apart from earning thousands of crores as revenue.
On May 23, he was transferred as the MD of of Tamil Nadu Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society — 20th transfer in as many years for the official who was conferred IAS rank in 2001. On Thursday, Sagayam’s successor Anshul Mishra formed 18 teams comprising district administration officials to inspect 175 granite quarries. The teams would submit their report in 10 days.
