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India Today
05-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Retired IAS officer who exposed 2014 Tamil Nadu granite scam seeks protection
A retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer U Sagayam, who investigated large-scale illegal granite mining in Tamil Nadu, has written to the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court and other authorities citing a serious threat to his life after the state government withdrew his security in May 2014, the High Court had appointed Sagayam as Special Officer to probe illegal granite mining, following which he uncovered a powerful mining mafia operating in and around Melur in Madurai district since 1990. The operations had caused an estimated loss of over Rs 1 lakh crore to the exchequer. Sagayam submitted a detailed report, over 600 pages long, to the High Court in November action was taken on this report for two months until social activists exposed it, shocking the state, leading to the government taking action and cases were filed. I have received a second summon on one case which was registered in Vikramangalam Police Station. I was provided with an armed guard as escort from 2016 to May 2023 which has been removed lately by the Tamil Nadu government due to which I fear threat,' stated Sagayam. He has now sought protection from the court, citing the murders of social activist Jagabar Ali from Pudukottai district and whistleblower Zakir Hussain in Tirunelveli. 'I received two death threats in the form of a letter during my tenure stating that I will be chopped and thrown into the mines and that my wife and children will be chopped into pieces and thrown into the mines. I filed a complaint with the Tallakulam Police but till now I don't know what action has been taken,' he a separate letter to the Special Public Prosecutor of the Special Court dealing with offences related to Mines and Minerals, Sagayam said he was unable to appear in Madurai to give evidence due to personal safety concerns.'I am of the considered opinion that the decision taken by some police officers under the pretext of a committee to withdraw the security provided to me was clearly biased, flawed and unfair as they did not take into consideration the nexus and track record of the stakeholders in the granite mining arena, the nature of the crimes committed, the scale and magnitude of the irregularities resorted to and resultant pecuniary loss to Government Exchequer, which I brought to fore and the impact caused by my action in this regard. I have initially taken up this issue with the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police for restoring the security withdrawn. They have not realistically understood the gravity of the issue as the threat perception is clearly subjective. And as a result, they did not respond positively in this regard,' he said the murder of Jagabar Ali and the planned killing of Zakir Hussain, following his release of a video accusing police officers of having a nexus with criminals, was 'utterly shocking'. He warned that such incidents suggest that mafia and dreaded criminals 'are gaining upper hands and have no fear of being caught and punished'.advertisement'We as representatives of Civil Society should bow our heads in utter shame that we could not prevent such murder and loss of precious lives of the noble and selfless crusaders for common cause who are otherwise the sole breadwinner of their family. It is bitter but true that we all should admit beyond the meaningless and petty party politics that the law-abiding citizens, social activists and whistle blowers are living under constant threat and fear,' said Sagayam, expressing his inability to appear and give evidence in the said court. IN THIS STORY#Tamil Nadu
The Hindu
01-05-2025
- The Hindu
Tamil Nadu Granite Scam Case: Whistleblower U. Sagayam IAS Cites Threat to Life, Skips Court
Published : May 01, 2025 16:51 IST - 5 MINS READ U. Sagayam, a former Legal Commissioner and Special Officer of the Madras High Court who exposed the massive granite scam in Tamil Nadu in 2014, has declined to appear in person before the Special Court for Mines and Minerals in Madurai to provide evidence against those accused of illegal granite mining. He claims that his life is in danger following the State government's withdrawal of his security detail. In a letter to the Special Public Prosecutor—a digital copy of which is available with Frontline—he stated that the Special Court had summoned him to appear on March 26, 2025. He responded by saying that he was 'unable to travel to Madurai and provide evidence in the said court due to security concerns'. He described the withdrawal of his security as 'clearly biased, flawed, and unfair.' The decision makers, he said, had failed to consider the connections and track records of stakeholders in the granite mining industry, or to assess the nature of the crimes committed and the scale of irregularities he had exposed. Sagayam, therefore, requested the Special Public Prosecutor to inform the court about his 'inability' to comply with its summons, citing 'a clear threat to his life'. Also Read | Crushed by the cartel: The cost of blowing the whistle in Tamil Nadu's mining badlands In 2014, the Madras High Court appointed him as Special Officer to investigate illegal granite mining in the State, and security was provided to him following its instructions. Sagayam uncovered a powerful mining mafia that had been extracting granite illegally since 1990 in and around Melur in Madurai district, causing a loss of an estimated Rs.1 lakh crore. He submitted a detailed report, over 600 pages long, to the High Court in November 2015. Frontline accessed the report exclusively and subsequently reported the scam in its March 2017 issue. He added that the decision to withdraw his security suggested that officials 'did not understand the gravity of the threat perception' he was facing. He referred to the brutal killing of Jagabar Ali of Pudukottai district by the illegal quarry mafia in January this year and the attempted murder of Zakir Hussain in Tirunelveli, remarking that such incidents 'do not speak well of the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu'. The murder of Jagabar Ali underscored the impunity with which mining criminals, who recklessly exploit natural resources, operate. Emboldened by systemic failures, they brutally killed a vulnerable and selfless whistleblower who had fought for his native village. The cold-blooded killing of Zakir Hussain, even after he had released a video expressing concern for his safety, was particularly shocking. These murders illustrate that the mafia and dangerous criminal elements have gained the upper hand and no longer fear being apprehended or punished for their heinous acts. In his letter, Sagayam wrote that law-abiding citizens, activists, and whistleblowers were living under constant threat and fear. 'It is a free run for the hardcore criminals,' he said. Given the circumstances, he stated that he could not comply with the summons to appear in person. He also informed the court that he would be unable to attend any future hearings or comply with further summons 'until the restoration of the provision of security to me is done'. 'In his report, Sagayam estimated the loss to the exchequer at Rs.65,154.60 crore. He noted that if penalties were imposed for recovery, the amount would be approximately Rs.1.06 lakh crore.' He demanded stringent action against police officers and criminals who, he alleged, were hand in glove in the murders of whistleblowers and activists. Accordingly, he said, he had approached the government seeking the restoration of his security. When contacted, Sagayam told Frontline that he had informed the court of his inability to appear in person to depose owing to security concerns. He also confirmed that he had written a letter to the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. 'I have nothing more to say,' he added. Trail of the sinister scam Sagayam's report to the Madras High Court laid bare the audacious nature of the granite mining operations in Madurai district, particularly highlighting 'its sinister side—money laundering'. He exposed the direct involvement of government personnel, ranging from clerical staff to senior officials, including two District Collectors and officers from the Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited (TAMIN). The inquiry began when Justice K. Chandru (since retired) of the Madras High Court, on February 4, 2011, ordered an enquiry into allegations of irregularities and tax evasion by PRP Exports, a leading granite exporter based in Melur, Madurai. The judge also quashed a July 2009 order by then Madurai Collector N. Mathivanan that had given the firm a clean chit. Justice Chandru directed the Commissioner of Geology and Mines to carry out a personal inspection, but no further action was taken. Also Read | What lies beneath: The real cost of Tamil Nadu's illegal quarries In May 2012, Sagayam, then District Collector of Madurai, submitted a confidential 13-page report to the Tamil Nadu government alleging illegal granite mining worth Rs.16,000 crore in the district. A day after sending the report, he was transferred. His successor, Anshul Mishra, shut down 94 quarries and froze several bank accounts. Two former District Collectors, C. Kamaraj and N. Mathivanan, came under the scanner of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption. Several officials were suspended and transferred. In 2013, Mishra submitted his findings to the government and was promptly transferred to Chennai. Later, the Madras High Court—acting on a PIL petition—appointed Sagayam as Commissioner of Inquiry to investigate the scam. Today, granite mining in and around Madurai has come to a virtual halt, with many major players in the industry facing criminal charges. In his report, Sagayam estimated the loss to the exchequer at Rs.65,154.60 crore. He noted that if penalties were imposed for recovery, the amount would be approximately Rs.1.06 lakh crore. It is learnt that 98 FIRs were registered in 2012-13 against officials from TAMIN, and the Revenue and Mines and Minerals departments, as well as against private mining firms. These included Olympus Granites, in which Durai Dayanidhi—the son of M.K. Alagiri, then Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers—was allegedly involved, PRP Exports owned by P.R. Palanichamy, and Sindhu Granites.
The Hindu
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
How Illegal Mining in Tamil Nadu Thrives: The Jagabar Ali Murder and the Quarry Mafia's Grip on the State
Published : Apr 23, 2025 09:47 IST - 10 MINS READ After the murder of the activist Jagabar Ali on January 17, the Tamil Nadu government ordered the Department of Geology and Mining to do a survey on mining activities across the State and submit a detailed report. The department began the task in Pudukottai district. However, after drone surveys were done in just 200 quarries of Thirumayam block, the work was stopped on the grounds that the Ali murder case had been transferred to the CB-CID. 'Any further study will henceforth be based on the CB-CID's requirements,' said an official involved in the study. A Madurai-based lawyer who fights cases against the quarry mafia said that this simply meant that the department had abandoned its statewide survey meant to identify illegal mines. 'It's an excuse for the government to relinquish responsibility,' he said. The State government, however, said that it had completed a differential global positioning system survey of 1,132 mines to ascertain the extent of the areas leased for quarrying. Meanwhile, the Department of Geology and Mining did produce a five-volume report of its findings in Thirumayam, parts of which were accessed by Frontline. They revealed the frightening extent of environmental degradation and revenue loss in one block of Pudukottai district alone and pointed to a mighty mining mafia that enjoys patronage across political parties and across caste and religious affiliations. Also Read | Crushed by the cartel: The cost of blowing the whistle in Tamil Nadu's mining badlands The stone mining loot is similar to the plunder of river and beach sand and granite (which have now been restricted thanks to legal interventions) in the State. Of the 200 quarries surveyed, 36 were found to be breaking the law. They had licences for a combined extract volume of 6 lakh cubic metres of minerals a year but had illegally mined an enormous 63 lakh cubic metres. This is the irregularity that Ali exposed, for which he paid with his life. The numbers show the sheer size of the environmental and economic plunder happening across the State. Construction boom The growth in the quarrying and crushing industry took place after the boom in the State's construction industry and was further escalated by the scarcity of river sand. A quarry with a Rs 10 crore investment, for example, can yield roughly 1,000 tonnes a day for 20 years. Once the pit mouth goes deep into the gorge, the mines are abandoned since operational costs outweigh the volume extracted. The State has 1,900 quarries and 300 crushers as per official records. In 2021, the mining department granted 2,931 leases for 8,721 hectares of land, both 'patta' (private land) and 'poromboke' (government land), to extract minor minerals such as rough stones. The government, however, fixed the revenue target from minerals for 2024-25 at just Rs.2,100 crore. The report on Thirumayam was submitted to the Commissioner of Geology and Mining, but it was not made public. A senior Mining official told Frontline on condition of anonymity that the team, headed by the Regional Joint Director, Tiruchi Zone, inspected the controversial RR Quarries and 15 other rough stone quarries nearby, as well as 20 others in Thirumayam block. The team included three Assistant Directors (Mines) and three geologists. Major illegalities Using a government-empanelled drone survey agency, the team discovered major illegalities in 36 quarries. The licence for RR Quarries, whose employee was arrested for the murder of Ali, had expired in February 2023 itself. According to the senior official, the approximate cost per cubic metre is Rs.408, which adds up to a huge revenue loss of around Rs.257 crore a year from the 36 quarries. If this is the extent of losses to the exchequer from one block in one district, one can well imagine the magnitude of losses as a result of illegal mining across the entire State. Sources in the mining department conceded that hundreds of quarries and crushers function without licences, many in inter-State border districts, so that the mined minerals can be easily smuggled to neighbouring States. But these officials also expressed their helplessness. Violations galore An official said: 'The rules are here to be violated. Obtaining a licence and renewing it are cumbersome exercises. As per the Mining Act, a quarry has to get an environment clearance certificate and have operations cleared in public hearings convened by the District Collector. But with the connivance of a few department people, quarries and crushers skip these steps and proliferate without accountability.' For instance, it is well known that quarry operators transport stones many times over the permitted volume using a single transport permit. The blocks are moved to stockyards, crushers, and sand units, transformed to various forms, and then supplied to end users, flouting all transit, mining, and sales rules. Many operators also create bogus sales bills. The Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers' Rules, 2011, framed under the Centre's Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 1957, prohibits the illegal mining of minerals, their transport by any carrier from the place of extraction, or from the stockyard, or from one place to another without valid transit passes. But these rules are openly flouted. Bulk transit permits also allot each lorry a certain volume of material for transportation. Any violations are to be dealt with severely, but this rule is constantly broken. Only now, after Ali's murder, has the State introduced e-permits to track consignments. Rough stones fall under the category of minor minerals, and the Central government's Mines and Minerals Act delegates powers to the States to form rules and lease out such quarries subject to scientific and systematic mining. The Act rules that illegal mining as a cognisable offence, punishable by imprisonment and fines. But many States are reluctant to enforce the rules strictly because of the potential to make money, and turn a blind eye to illegal mining. To prevent pilferage and further strengthen enforcement, there is the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2017, under which State governments have been asked to update and form mining rules for minor minerals and notify the same in the gazette. 'Tamil Nadu is yet to adopt and notify its Rules,' said a retired senior official from the Mining Department. In 2012, the Supreme Court, in Deepak Kumar v. State of Haryana and Others, pointed out that on the basis of recommendations of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, the Ministry of Mines issued guidelines in 2010 and asked the States to follow them. One of the rules was that a mining area that is 5 hectares or above should get environmental clearance. The Tamil Nadu government has not yet implemented it. Kinds of stone Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959, defines 'stone' as rough stones, which includes 'khandas' (unsized blocks), boulders, and 'crushed or broken' stones, including metal jelly, ballast, mill stones, hand chakai, and coarse aggregates, including M-sand (manufactured sand in 3.5 mm size), P-sand (plastering sand in 2.5 mm), and C-sand (concrete sand of 4.5 mm), for construction purposes. It does not include black, white, or other coloured or multicoloured granite. The retired official said: 'The Tamil Nadu government is yet to frame, adopt, notify, and gazette the rules for minor mineral mining. As such, it has technically ceased to execute its power of granting leases and licences for minor minerals. Hence, quarry mining as a whole is rendered illegal under the Mining Act and its Rules. I drew attention to this paradox to the higher judiciary in several cases.' Durai Murugan, Tamil Nadu Minister for Mines and Minerals, said in the Assembly in the first week of April that the State would constitute a committee to recommend amendments, adding that 'some of the rules of Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules were not in line with Central amendments'. Mining rules mandate that the peripheral seam and pit depth should be between 30 and 60 metres for 'safe and scientific mining'. But in reality, miners go as far below as 150 to 200 metres, which could cause collapses. In 2022, a few workers were buried alive in a quarry in Tirunelveli district. In 2021, a 19-year-old machine operator in a private quarry in Rakkathanpatti in Pudukottai was buried alive after a cave-in. Geology experts also argue that measuring excavated rocks in cubic metres has been phased out elsewhere in the world and is faulty under the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act. 'It should be measured in tonnes. Cubic metre mainly helps to suppress the real volume of the extracted minerals, thus encouraging corrupt practices,' an official said. Explosives racket The procurement of explosives for blasting is another major racket. Mystery shrouds the source of the explosives used in the innumerable illegal quarries. The Explosives Act mandates that only legally permitted quarries, under the Explosives Rules, 2008, will be supplied with a 'mandated' quantity of explosives based on the sanctioned volume of extract and location. But this rule, too, remains on paper. Tamil Nadu falls under the jurisdiction of the Joint Chief Controller of Explosives, South Circle, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), who is based in Chennai and primarily responsible for administering the Explosives Act, 1884, governing the manufacture, import, export, transport, possession, sale, and use of explosives. However, the use of explosives in quarries and mines does not come under the direct purview of PESO. The Directorate General of Mine Safety is the nodal agency for the safety and welfare of miners. It is the local police who are primarily responsible for enforcing the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, and the Explosives Act, 1884, in close coordination with the mining and revenue departments. Even with these Acts in place, there are large-scale violations in the procurement of explosives, according to sources in the mining department. Even blasting operations are not carried out as per mining protocols, with many accidents reported and many unreported, and cracks appearing in nearby houses and structures. In September 2018, two miners were killed and four others injured in a quarry in Muthudayanpatti in Pudukottai when an explosive was triggered by lightning. 'The miners rarely employ official blasters; amateurs and labourers are used. Even for the 1,900 licensed quarries, less than 500 official blasters are available,' an official said. Ray of hope Amid this uncontrolled loot, there is a ray of hope in the form of judicial intervention. As early as 2013, the Madras High Court asked the government to issue strict instructions to District Collectors, police, and other authorities to enforce the provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959, and the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers' Rules, 2011. But, after Ali's murder, when the government once again tried to crack down on illegal operations, the mining cartel—giving an indication of the fallout of any legal scrutiny—unilaterally hiked the price of M-sand and other material and choked supply. The official price of M-sand has jumped to Rs.1,250 a tonne from Rs.650 earlier, while it is sold in the black market at Rs.4,000. Also Read | Killed on civic duty As feared, this has impacted the construction industry. Various infrastructural and development works as well as private construction activities are suffering. A quarry owner said: 'We are not able to work. Not only are the rules stringent, there is increasing intervention of 'fake' environmental activism.' Durai Guna, an activist against illegal mining, said: 'In 2023 too, quarry owners struck work saying they were being harassed by officials and social workers.' The steep hike in the price of quarry stone and sand has also affected fleet operations. Sella Rajamani, president of the Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners Federation, told Frontline: 'The quarry syndicate is holding everyone to ransom. Instead of punishing illegal quarry operators and crushers, the officials harass us. We carry GST-paid bills for consignments. However, we are stopped and our drivers arrested.' He added: 'Nearly 75 per cent of M-sand and other aggregates, of which 80 per cent is illegal, is transported to Kerala from Theni, Coimbatore, and Tiruppur. As quarrying is totally banned in Kerala, the demand there outstrips the supply.' Nothing, and no one, seems capable of reining in the mining mafia, and the loot continues unabated. While the police and State government officials throw up their hands in seeming helplessness, natural resources are destroyed and activists like Jagabar Ali and R. Jeganathan, who raise their voices in protest, are murdered in cold blood.
