Chennai: PMK MP and youth wing president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss has approached the Madras high court to direct the state government to close down all sand quarries across the state to save rivers, water bodies and farmers and consequently use alternative to sand in all the construction activities under the government projects. The First Bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M. Sundar before whom the PIL filed by Anbumani Ramadoss came up for hearing, directed the state government to file its counter affidavit within 3 weeks and rejoinder if any, be filed within one week thereafter.
In his petition, he also sought a direction to the state government to take appropriate action against illegal and unlawful mining activities in the state by setting up an expert committee under the guidance of a retired judge of Supreme court/high court to identify the lapses that have occurred from October 2003 onwards to eliminate the scope of middlemen in sand mining activities and sanitize mining system and strengthen the PWD and suggest suitable measures to prevent such lapses in future and to put in place a robust mechanism to prevent such wholesale illegal activities in sand mining in the state.
According to petitioner, the sand mining policy and nationalisation of sand quarrying activities undertaken by the state government from October 2003, though initially appeared to be a progressive measure in the right direction to generate more revenue to the state and to invest the additional revenue so realised in more developmental activities of the state and to ensure adequate and steady supply of sand to various infrastructure projects and housing activities in the state, has turned out to be a sinister design born out of the conspiracy, well-orchestrated by the unholy alliance of vested interests, ministers, middlemen and the pliable bureaucrats who out loot the natural resources, without any compunction.
The revenue realised from sand mining activities from PWD has declined to Rs 133.37 crore in 2013-14 and Rs 83.66 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 150 crore in 2003-04. The actual income from sand mining in the state could not have come down so badly even assuming that a number of sand quarries operated in the state have come down due to the ban orders by the court, he added.
He said unless the state government imposes a complete ban on the use of river sand in construction activities in the state, the demand for river sand will continue to exist and this will encourage the greedy and rapacious middlemen and authorities concerned to continue to indulge in sand mining activities in river basins and the natural resources of rivers in the state will always be under the danger, he added.
