While show cause notice has been issued to 13 stone quarries in the district asking why their licenses should not be cancelled for rampant violations of mining norms, Rs. 300 crore is likely to be slapped as fine on 32 stone quarries for illegal and excess quarrying of stones in violation of law.
After a massive landslide in a stone quarry at Adaimithippaankulam near Palayamkottai claimed four lives on May 15, District Collector V. Vishnu, who had earlier sealed six stone quarries near Panagudi area for excessive and illegal mining and slapped a fine of Rs. 20 crore on a quarry in Irukkanthurai near Koodankulam for similar offence, formed six teams for surveying all 52 stone quarries functioning in the district. As the reports submitted by the teams established excessive and illegal mining in all 52 stone quarries, the quantum of illegal mining was studied.
Based on the findings, the Department of Geology and Mining has sent show-cause notices to 13 stone quarries, mostly in Radhapuram taluk, asking the license-holders as to why the licenses granted to them should not be cancelled for illegal and excessive mining of stones cause huge loss to the government besides leaving the workers’ safety at risk.
As the mining plans submitted by the license applicants and subsequently cleared by the Department of Geology and Mining had been violated in 13 quarries by digging deep beyond the permissible level of 4 meter above the ground water level in the area where the quarry is situated, they are all set to lose the licence.
“If the explanation to be submitted by the licence-holders of these 13 stone quarries is not satisfactory, the license will be cancelled immediately,” said highly placed sources in Department of Geology and Mining.
The Department of Geology and Mining has also recommended to Sub-Collector, Cheranmahadevi and Revenue Divisional Officer, Tirunelveli, to slap fine on 16 stone quarries each under their jurisdiction.
“The quantum of fine to be slapped on these 32 erring stone quarries may run up to Rs. 300 crore. In other words, each of these 32 stone quarry license-holders will have to pay the fine of just over Rs. 9 crore for the whopping earnings they enjoyed through illegal mining,” said the sources.
