MADURAI: Finding irregularities and laxity in enforcing rules governing quarrying, the High Court-appointed Legal Commissioner U Sagayam on Saturday pulled up the Madurai district revenue department.
Continuing with his third round of inspection in Keelavalavu areas of Melur taluk. the former Madurai Collector was at the archaeologically important Panchapandavar Hills. A granite stockyard of a private player was found to be illegal as it was in violation of the lease agreement which permitted only mining and stipulated that there should not be any stockyard. However, the miners, without getting the nod, stocked thousands of granite bars in a sprawling 30 acres of land. He ordered the revenue department to submit a report over it.
Inspecting the little mount, Sarkarai Beermalai, he said as there was an old mosque on the hillock, the place should have been given to the Archaeological Department. He questioned as to how the revenue department had granted permission for quarrying in the area.The firm which took the lease had sliced half of the 71-acre mount which was made of valuable ‘Kashmir White’ granite. As per records, the firm had mined upto 3.51 lakh cubic metre. Sagayam sought a report on this also.
Finally, he inspected Saruguvalayapatti where the private firm had quarried out granite up to a depth of 200 feet. It was also found that quarrying was carried out illegally in 4.5 acre of natham poramboke land. He directed the authorities to provide documents including village map dated before 1980 and the land owners’ list.