Chennai-based anti-graft NGO Arappor Iyakkam sought action against Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise J Jayakanthan, Tirunelveli MP S Gnanathiraviam, and a few other private quarry owners, alleging a loss of Rs 700 crore to the exchequer due to illegal mining in the Tirunelveli district. Jayakanthan, who was a Commissioner of Geology and Mining in 2022, is alleged to have relaxed several rules to favour quarry owners and lessees who illegally operated quarries in Tirunelveli and Tiruppur. Arappor Iyakkam also said that pressure from the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Gnanathiraviam played a major role in transferring many officials who previously inspected these quarries and levied hefty fines.
In a press conference held on Thursday, February 22, Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of Arappor Iyakkam, said that Jayakanthan subverted the Acts and Rules of the mining department meant to penalise illegal mining through unlawful means. In a complaint submitted to the Director of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC), Arappor Iyakkam urged the immediate registration of an FIR and an investigation into the matter.
The NGO further said that functionaries of the ruling DMK are among the quarry owners who enjoyed the favours extended by Jayakanthan. For instance, a penalty of Rs 60 crore was imposed on one SAV group that runs a quarry in Tirunelveli. This was later revised to Rs 3.7 crore. Graham Bell, one of the in-charges of the SAV Group is a DMK functionary, the Iyakkam noted, and listed a few more DMK functionaries' names in the complaint.
Arappor Iyakkam also alleged that Gnanathiraviam runs the quarries under the Benami of one Esakkiyappan, and his quarries were involved in illegal mining in 2022 when they were ordered to be shut down. In 2021, then Sub-Collector Siva Krishnamoorthy conducted an inquiry in a quarry owned by Esakkiyappan and found that around 4 lakh square meters of stone were mined illegally from the quarry and Rs 20 crore was imposed in fines. However, due to the alleged pressure from the DMK, the Sub-Collector was transferred, claimed the NGO.
The furore over illegal mining in Tirunelveli began in 2022 after a quarry accident killed 4 workers in Adaimidhippankulam. Subsequently, a six-member team was constituted to inspect the quarries, and they found illegalities in 53 out of 54 quarries that functioned in Cheranmahadevi. Based on the findings of the team, the quarries were levied huge penalties and eventually ordered to be shut down by the Sub-Collector.
Arappor Iyakkam’s complaint mentions that Jayakanthan had revised the penalty for 24 quarries in Tirunelveli from Rs 262.05 crore to Rs 13.83 crore while he was the Commissioner of Geology and Mining. The NGO further alleged that he also nullified the previous order of the Sub-Collector, helping illegal mining lessees to violate rules.
As per Section 36-C of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules 1959, if the lessee is aggrieved by the order passed by the Sub-Collector, the lessee shall appeal to the District Collector against such order in the first appeal. However, in this issue, Arappor Iyakkam argued that aggrieved lessees approached Jayakanthan to resolve the matter. Besides reducing the penalty, Arappor Iyakkam noted in its complaint that Jayakanthan also allegedly gave an extension of five months to compensate for the time when the quarries remained closed and gave quarry owners the option to pay penalties in EMIs. He then reopened the quarries.
The NGO said that it has scrutinised the details of two more quarries that were ordered to be closed by the district administration and found the same pattern. The quarries were reopened and the penalty was reduced to Rs 9.16 crore against the original amount of Rs 66.81 crore. Arappor Iyakkam estimates a Rs 305 crore loss in the remaining 27 out of 53 quarries where illegalities were found, and a Rs 92 crore loss to the exchequer.