The Hindu : 3 depts. failed to prevent illegal activity: CAG

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 11, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

3 depts. failed to prevent illegal activity: CAG

By T. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI May 10. The scourge of illicit sand quarrying, which led to the death of a revenue inspector near Kancheepuram last month and a consequent outcry, has also caught the attention of the Comptroller and Auditor-General.

The CAG, in a report placed in the Assembly on Saturday, pointed out that the Government had to incur an additional expenditure of nearly Rs. 3.3 crores on formation of flood banks in Tiruvallur district because of the failure of the Public Works, Revenue and Industries departments to prevent illicit mining.

Though the PWD executive engineer of the Kosasthalaiyar basin division reported to the Collector and the Revenue department 17 times during October 1997-August 1998, no action was taken and the illegal activity continued, necessitating the strengthening of the flood banks on both sides of the Vallur Anicut. Later, the strengthening work was included in the Flood Alleviation Programme. During execution, the quantity of earthwork included in the contract was found insufficient and additional earthwork proposed at a cost of Rs. 3.38 crores. The work was completed in March 2002 at a cost of Rs. 3.31 crores.

When the issue of extra expenditure was taken up in August 2002 with the departments, each of them put the blame on another for the basic problem. According to the PWD Secretary, the Revenue department was responsible for prevention of illicit sand mining. The Revenue department argued that though its officials stopped illicit quarrying, the Industries department, at the government level, controlled them. As far as the Collector was concerned, the PWD, being the ``river conservator'', should have made criminal complaints to the police and that the High Court had instructed departmental officers to lodge criminal complaints treating illicit quarrying as theft and damage to public property. ``However, none of the departments had discharged its duties envisaged in the (Mines and Minerals - Regulation and Development) Act and Rules'', the report stated, adding the court direction to the Revenue and Industries departments to prevent illicit quarrying was also not honoured.

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