Marriguda police seized two lorries belonging to Sridevi Mines for carrying granites without paying proper taxes late night on Tuesday at Sivannagudem village, following a complaint from locals.
Speaking to The Hindu , Inspector Venkat Reddy said the granite was being carried without proper receipts. The Inspector also informed the matter to Assistant Director, Mines, Nalgonda, C. Narasimhulu, who sent his men to Marriguda to collect the measurements of seized granites. Mr. Narasimjulu told The Hindu that miners have to pay Rs. 1,625 per cubic metre of granite. The miners must invite the Mining Department staff to collect the measurements of these granite blocks, which the mining department personnel also mark on them after collecting the tax, he said. “But this time they did not inform us,” he said.
Meanwhile, the villagers living in and around Marriguda said that they have complained to the police several times against Sridevi Mines taking heavy loads of granite from remote villages evading the taxes.
Since the roads were badly damaged with the movement of heavy vehicles, a youth from Samsthan Narayanapur, Shivaji, said that they had stopped these heavy vehicles at least ten times prior to this and staged a protest, but neither the police nor the Mining Department initiated any action against the erring mining company. There are three roads that lead to Hyderabad from this mining site, one each via Mal, Gungal and Narayanapur.
“The lorry drivers cleverly choose among these ways to evade the taxes since they are also having informers in the villages to pass information on the police movement,” the villagers alleged. Some officials are also colluding with these mining companies to allow them to carry the granite without paying taxes, they added.
