Illegal Crushers Drive Crash Risk Round Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Illegal stone crusher units operating on the outskirts of Hyderabad pose a major hazard to public safety because of overloaded tippers causing frequent road accidents. Despite the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) directions in 2022 to crack down on such activities, enforcement has remained weak over the past three years.

Following the NGT order, the state government conducted raids in 2022, shut down 12 illegal units, and imposed penalties worth Rs 5.5 crore. However, the absence of sustained enforcement has allowed many units to resume operations.

With Hyderabad witnessing a construction boom — ranging from high-rise apartments and large commercial complexes to gated communities — the demand for gravel has surged sharply, providing a lucrative opportunity for illegal quarrying and crushing units.

Sources said that the mining department and the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB) recently formed three joint teams to identify illegal stone crushers. The teams reportedly found 190 unlicensed units across the city’s periphery and have submitted a detailed report to the government seeking directions on further action. Sources said there has been no response so far from higher authorities.

To maximise profits, operators of illegal crusher units and lorry owners are blatantly flouting safety and transport regulations. Overloaded tippers run at high speeds not only on highways but even within city limits. Drivers, eager to complete more trips for higher pay, cause frequent accidents. The accident near Chevella, where an overloaded tipper collided with an RTC bus killing 19 people and injuring 24 others, has once again exposed the perilous conditions created by unchecked mining transport.

Common violations include non-payment of mining royalty, overloading, transportation of gravel during prohibited hours, and illegal movement of material within and beyond the Outer Ring Road (ORR). Vehicles are often modified to carry excessive loads by raising their body height by one or two feet, making them unstable and difficult to control at high speeds. Tippers and lorries are permitted to enter the city only at night, between 10 pm and 7 am, but are often seen on the roads round the clock.

Official sources said the mining department has recently constituted a special task force comprising 12 officials to curb illegal gravel transport. The team, which includes seven women, faces numerous challenges. Without proper uniforms or enforcement authority on par with the police, female officers are often ignored by tipper drivers. Though the task force is mandated to conduct daily checks, officials are reportedly able to inspect vehicles only once every three days due to regular office workload constraints.

To evade inspections, tipper owners deploy “pilot” vehicles that scout ahead to locate inspection points and alert others to change routes. The lack of strong punitive measures further emboldens violators. While Maharashtra imposes fines of at least Rs 25,000 for overloading and Rs 2,000 per additional tonne, Telangana’s penalties are far lighter — Rs 1,000 per extra tonne and a maximum of Rs 2,000 for permit violations — making fines negligible compared to the illegal profits.

Vehicles transporting minerals from various mines and stone crusher units, including those around Hyderabad, operate with severe overloading. For instance, a 10-tyre lorry or tipper is permitted to carry a load of 24 to 25 tonnes, making the total weight about 34 to 35 tonnes.

However, many vehicles are found to be transporting an additional 10 to 15 tonnes of gravel, sand, and other materials beyond the permissible limit. To control their maximum speed, these vehicles are required to have speed governors installed, but nearly 50 per cent of them do not have such devices. In their bid to make more trips and earn higher income, drivers operate these overloaded vehicles at dangerously high speeds.

Although the Motor Vehicles Act empowers authorities to seize overloaded vehicles and suspend driver licences, enforcement remains weak. The shortage of parking space to hold seized vehicles is also cited as an excuse. Officials admit that seized trucks lie unattended for months, as the transport department has not initiated auctions for their disposal.

Road safety experts warn that unless penalties are enhanced and enforcement strengthened, overloading and overspeeding by tippers will continue to claim lives, as seen in the Chevella tragedy. They say unchecked operations of illegal crushers have turned Hyderabad’s outskirts into accident zones, calling for urgent government intervention and coordinated action among the mining, transport, and police departments.