The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Writ plea to stop State monopoly in sand sale

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 17, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Writ plea to stop State monopoly in sand sale

Staff Reporter

`Stockyards should be dismantled'

CHENNAI: : A lorry owners' association has filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court, alleging that "in the guise of nationalisation of sand quarrying, a monopoly has been created in favour of a few persons who do not even pay any privilege amount to the Government."

The petition, filed by the Aminjikarai Lorry Owner's Welfare Association president V.S. Yuvaraj, sought a direction to the State Government to make arrangements for directly loading sand from quarries under the supervision of Public Works Department personnel for actual cost. It also prayed for the dismantling of the stockyard set up near the quarries.

An order divesting the licensees of quarrying licence was issued in October 2003, when the State monopoly came into existence. The PWD would operate quarries at 239 locations and sell sand to users at a price of Rs. 1,000 a lorry load after storing it at 95 depots.

However, the petitioner said: "Though it is being projected that there are no private licence for quarrying sand and the right to quarry sand from riverbeds has been nationalised, the PWD Secretary has given loading contract to seven persons without calling for tenders. The entire State has been divided into four regions: Chennai, Pollachi, Tiruchi and Madurai. Loading contracts in these regions have been given to two persons."

He alleged that loading contractors, with the collusion of PWD engineers, quarried hundreds of loads of sand illicitly without following the procedure of paying Rs. 626 towards the cost of a lorry load comprising two units. "These contractors have set up their own stock yard near the quarry site and they also sell the illicitly quarried sand to private individuals." These contractors sell sand for higher price and make huge profits, depriving the State of its revenue by way of fee or royalty. He said the government advocates were not making efforts to vacate an interim order permitting these loading contractors to transport the quarried sand without their having to disclose the final destination or transport permit.

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