Granite scam one of the worst scams in India took place in the state of Tamil Nadu. The multi- crores illegal granite mining scam was chiefly centered on Melur. These granite quarries are mainly located on government owned “promboke lands” and hillocks.
PRP Exports, Olympus Granites and Sindhu Granites are the names associated with the major Granite Scam which took place in Tamil Nadu in May 2012. It was on the 19th of May 2012 when the former district collector of Madurai MR. U. Sagayam wrote a letter to The Principal Secretary of the State Industrial department informing him about how farmers and other rural people were deprived of their livelihood and also how the officials of the Departments of Revenue and Geology and Mining along with the granite companies continued their loot.
The report said that most of these granite quarries have affected agriculture and grazing areas for cattle by the means of encroachment upon water bodies. Though the letter was sent in May 2012 but it got exposed in August 2012. Mr. Anshul Mishra former Madurai collector along with eighteen team officials started investigation on the case in the 175 quarries of the district from 2nd August.
An estimate of a scandal of about 16000 crores rupees to the state exchequer was made. Mr. Anshul Mishra made sure that the officials were properly instructed to measure the quantity of granite that was mined and also to identify all the major and minor violations.
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Most of these granite quarries were owned by Tamil Nadu Minerals Department which leased these quarries to private parties who in return paid for the granite they mined. Nine people including a tahisildar and a deputy tahisildar were suspended by the state government in Madurai as they were found to be connected with the granite mining mafia. A senior clerk of Tamil Nadu minerals limited was also arrested. Actions were also initiated in Melur against the retired government officials who were suspected as being majorly involved in the scam. The most astonishing report revealed by NDTV said “A company that pays the government eighty lakhs literally transports eighty crore worth of granite totally unaccounted for or much more than what they have been permitted to mine”. It is shameful to see how our country is being looted by the dacoits inside.
The scam has been solved to almost completely because an important granite baron P. Palanisamy and a major granite exporter from Madurai surrendered to the police. Melur’s Madura Granite’s owner Panneer Mohammed also surrendered to the police soon though his advocates argued continuously that all the illegal reports against him were biased and fabricated. Inspector Ramakrishnan from Madurai was also arrested by the DIG of Madurai because he was not conducting his duties in a proper manner. The immediate actions taken by the government once the scam became visible to them and to the public eye should be appreciated by all the Indians.