Pattali Makkal Katchi’s youth wing president and a sitting Member of Parliament Anbumani Ramadoss has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition in the Madras High Court, seeking a direction to the State government to close down permanently all sand quarries situated across the State and consequently begin promoting the use of alternatives to river sand for constructing government as well as private buildings.
The MP also sought a direction to the Chief Secretary to take appropriate action against illegal mining activities that had been taking place in the State by constituting an expert committee under the guidance of a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge to identify the lapses that had occurred since October 2003. He further urged the court to put in place a robust mechanism to curb illegal sand mining in the State.
According to the petitioner, out of 41 quarries in Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Karur, Nagapattinam, Namakkal, Pudukottai, Ramanthapuram, Thanjavur, Tiruchi, Vellore and Villupuram, 31 were operational and the rest non-operational. He recalled that the government had issued an order on August 25 banning the transportation of sand outside the State in order to ensure that the mineral was available at a reasonable cost in the State. “Ever since the government took over sand quarrying through the PWD, there has been reckless mining of sand in all important river basins in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
