The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : KILLING FOR SAND

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 17, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

KILLING FOR SAND

THE KILLING OF a revenue official, who tried to stop illegal quarrying, by the sand mafia in Tamil Nadu is a chilling reminder of the inadequacies of the law enforcement machinery in the face of organised crime. The official, R. Venkatesan, a deputy tahsildar, was pushed down when he made an effort to prevent a lorry laden with illegally quarried sand from getting away. This is the third instance of an official falling victim to the sand and stone quarrying mafia over the last two years. In April 2003, a revenue inspector was killed in similar circumstances. In September the same year, a tahsildar who tried to rein in those involved in illegal stone quarrying was murdered by the mafia. There have also been several instances of assault and physical intimidation of officials who took on the mafia. Some years ago, there was an attempt on the life of a District Collector who ordered a crackdown on illegal sand mining. But what sets last week's killing apart is that it comes after the State Government decided to cancel the sand mining leases and take over all quarrying. With the Public Works Department directly in charge of sand quarrying, the mafia's hold over the sand trade was expected to loosen. But after a lull, the gangsters entered the scene again, this time without even a pretence of having a lease for sand mining. While earlier the mafia secured the mining rights in auction through muscle power and defrauded the state on the seignorage by issuing fake receipts, now they operate illegally from start to finish.

In taking over the sand trade, the Tamil Nadu Government was prompted not only by the estimated loss in revenue, but also by the damage caused by illicit mining to water resources, farm lands, bridges, dams, and power line towers. But the sand mafia, formed through a nexus of lorry owners and sand contractors with lower level politicians and policemen, could not be eliminated by a mere executive order. Evidently, the revenue officials were not equipped to deal with such an organised racket. Help from the police, who often cite shortage of manpower for staying away from such operations, is difficult to obtain for night-time monitoring activities. Revenue officials are unable to coordinate their activities with the police, and often have to chase offenders without any form of armed protection. Although lorry drivers are rarely armed, they pay no heed to revenue officials in jeeps. Thus revenue inspectors and tahsildars who risk their lives by coming in the way of the lorries are viciously targeted. Without doubt, the big failure in the prevailing circumstances is at the level of enforcement. Not surprisingly, there have been demands for the creation of a separate force within the police to deal exclusively with the sand mafia. Such a force could be on the lines of the Prohibition Enforcement Wing with a specific responsibility to tackle illegal sand and stone quarrying.

Enforcement issues aside, the way to break the back of the sand mafia is to go after the business interests behind it. After all, the illegally quarried sand ends up in otherwise legal construction sites. The crackdown on illegal quarrying should go hand in hand with a drive against unlicensed brick kilns and unmonitored construction activities. Tripsheets of lorries must be checked meticulously at outposts, and sand deposited on private property must be brought under scrutiny. In the absence of such a multi-pronged attack, the sand mafia will continue to get away with murder.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

SUSTAINING THE MOMENTUM

KILLING FOR SAND

Re-engaging organised religion

Bush's tactics unchanged

Venezuela-India ties to centre around oil