The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed IAS officer U. Sagayam to probe illegalgranite mining in Madurai only.
After the court appointed him Legal Commissioner to inspect mines and submit a report, Mr. Sagayam sought a clarification on the scope of his probe.
The First Bench of Chief Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice M. Sathyanarayanan made it clear that the question whether the area of inspection was to be expanded or not — keeping in mind the larger scope of the petition filed by K.R. Ramaswamy alias ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy — would be considered subsequently.
The judges said that if Mr. Sagayam needed the assistance of particular officers for the inspection of mines, he might indicate it to the government, which should try to make the officers available immediately.
On October 28, the court directed the State government to do the needful, as requested by Mr. Sagayam, within four days. The government issued a letter dated October 31, asking him to inspect the mines and submit a report to the court. It also asked the Madurai Collector and the Commissioner of Geology and Mining and the Director-General of Police to provide him with necessary infrastructure and security.
In the present petition, Mr. Sagayam said he had asked for facilities under the belief that he should report about illegal mining in all 32 districts and requested that he be allowed to select officers who would constitute his team for effective completion of the work within the stipulated time.
