HC dismisses case alleging irregularities in sand mining

December 13, 2016 07:46 pm | Updated 07:46 pm IST - MADURAI:

The Madras High Court Bench here has dismissed a case filed by a sand lorry owners’ association, accusing the Public Works Department (PWD) of forcibly overloading trucks at quarry sites on the Kollidam riverbed in Tiruchi district after collecting money in excess of what the officials are authorised to charge.

A Division Bench of Justices S. Nagamuthu and M.V. Muralidaran rejected the writ petition filed by Vaigai Sand Lorry Owners’ Association after a regional-level committee of seven PWD engineers, acting on court orders, conducted an inspection at the quarry sites in question and found that the allegations levelled by the petitioner association were false.

In its affidavit, the petitioner association claimed that the PWD sold sand to private lorry owners from primary yards located on the riverbeds itself, as well as from secondary yards situated elsewhere. Sand was sold to western districts of the State from quarry sites in Karur district and to the southern districts from sites in Tiruchi, it claimed.

Though a single-axle truck with six wheels was supposed to carry only two units of sand weighing 10,200 kg on payment of Rs. 3,200 in cash, the officials were forcing the vehicles to carry more than three units on payment of Rs. 4,500, without mentioning the amount on the receipt, thereby causing huge loss to the public exchequer, it alleged.

The association also contended that overloading the vehicles caused huge loss to the lorry owners due to quick wear and tear of the tyres, besides causing trucks to be fined at toll plazas and creating hurdles to obtaining the insurance amount in case of road accidents involving the overloaded trucks.

However, denying the allegations, an Assistant Executive Engineer of the PWD, River Conservation Sub Division, Tiruchi, said that his department sold sand only from the quarry sites on the riverbeds and filled two units of sand in single-axle trucks and three units of sand in multi-axle trucks on payment of Rs. 1,040 for every two units through Demand Draft.

Refuting the claim that the PWD was operating secondary yards, the official said that second-sale sand stock yards were operated by private individuals after obtaining necessary permission from the Collectors concerned. “These yards sell sand after removal of stones, shells, gravel and dust. Therefore, the price charged by them differs from that charged by the PWD,” he added.

In view of the contradictory stand taken by the parties before the court, the judges had directed the Tiruchi regional-level committee, led by S. Thinakaran, Chief Engineer, PWD, Water Resources Department, to inspect the quarry sites at Thiruvasi village of Manchanallur Taluk and Kilayanallur South village, and file a report in court.

The report supported the averments made by the Assistant Executive Engineer and stated that there was no cash transaction being carried out at the quarry sites. Though the petitioner association questioned the veracity of the report, the judges recorded its contents and dismissed the case with the observation that PWD officials should scrupulously follow government guidelines on sand quarrying.

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