Madras High Court winds up Sagayam-led panel on illegal mining  

The Madras High Court had on September 11, 2014 ordered the appointment of former Madurai District Collector Sagayam to conduct probe into all granite mining contracts and licences given.
The Madras High Court (File)
The Madras High Court (File)

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has wound up the one-man commission appointed by it to probe into illegal granite mining activities in Madurai.

A division bench of Justices T S Sivagnanam and G Jayachandran passed an order yesterday winding up the commission headed by IAS officer U Sagayam.

The commission has already submitted its report to the high court.

The Madras High Court had on September 11, 2014 ordered the appointment of former Madurai District Collector Sagayam as Special Officer/Legal Commissioner to conduct probe into all granite mining contracts and licences given to various private companies in Tamil Nadu and to find if there was any misuse.

The high court also dismissed a plea moved by private mining firm PRP Granites, seeking to allow them to carry out mining in locations other than Madurai and to export granites.

However, the court granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the authority concerned to prove their case and seek permission.

The petitioner submitted that the authorities had communicated to the Reserve Bank of India seeking to freeze its accounts and asked ports in Tamil Nadu not to permit granite export from that city, resulting in their entire business being stalled for over five years.

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