How graft grew on Granite

The reports on granite quarrying in Madurai distract of Tamilnadu is an eye opener. It is not only an issue of looting  thousands of crores of  rupees worth granite  and huge  loss  to the exchequer through illegal quarrying with political patronage and connivance of corrupt officials, but also the enormous damage caused to the ecology, environment, agricultural, ground water, natural streams, ponds, canals, biodiversity, etc. It is incomprehensible to note that for more than a decade there has been unrestricted, unchecked and unregulated granite quarrying in this region, which made the quarry owners rich and richer and the politicians and bureaucrats wealthier and wealthier through large scale corruption. It is painful to note that the officials were well aware about non-compliance of conditions and other illegalities/irregularities happening in the quarries and that the regulatory mechanism has been entirely collapsed and irregularities due to maladministration have risen to its peak. In a way, total damage has been caused to environmental sustainability and ecosystem due to indiscriminate quarrying. The entire area has been rendered environmentally unsustainable and unusable for cultivation. It is distressing to note that the livelihood nearly 10,000 agricultural households have been destroyed due to encroachment of agricultural land, destruction of water bodies and   irrigation canals, besides the devastation of many hillocks that serve as the source for the water bodies in the region. This commentator was rudely shocked to see the total destruction of farming in about 30,000 acres. Moreover, more than 20 water bodies (irrigation tanks) have vanished due to total defacement and destruction. The whole area looks like a locally completely destroyed due to bombing in a war. Most dastardly act is the destruction of all the hillocks that used to be not only the source of water for the tanks but also a beautiful location. It is reported that water canals in the entire region have disappeared with granite firms constructing their factories, stock yards and polishing units on them. The affected areas are also those irrigated by canals fed by rivers in the region such as Periyar and Vaigai. What is more  even land, protected by the Archaeology Survey of India for the presence of ancient Jain rock monuments, have also been blasted for granite blocks. All these destruction of land, tanks, canals and hillocks started with irrational granting of twenty-year mining leases granted to firms for quarrying granite on patta as well as government land through tender-com-actions. The situation became severe due to encroachment on government land by these firms with the connivance of corrupt officials. The government should take severe action against the firms that destroyed the areas and against the officials who colluded with them by taking bribery. The same is the situation in other parts of the country. Therefore, both the central governments should wake up and take steps to stop this pernicious practice of illegal and unscientific mining and quarrying so as to save the country from environmental and ecological disaster, besides preventing the looting of public money by unscrupulous elements with the support of the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.

Dr.C.Murukadas, Financial Express, Oct. 2, 2012.