Granite quarry lessees restrained from dumping waste into tanks
Staff Reporter
Collector asked to file detailed report within two weeks
MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday restrained three granite quarry lessees from dumping granite waste into the water tanks, under the Periyar Vaigai irrigation scheme, situated in Melur taluk in Madurai district.
The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice P. D. Dinakaran, also directed the Collector S. S. Jawahar to inspect the tanks and file a detailed report within two weeks.
The interim orders were passed on a public interest litigation petition filed by one of the villagers.
According to the petitioner, the quarry lessees were exploiting the water tanks by dumping waste materials.Owing to this, the tanks could not hold water either for irrigation or for fish culture.
The Keezhavazhavu panchayat, on May31, passed a resolution urging the officials to protect nine water bodies -- ‘Adanchan Kanmoi,’ ‘Sirumanickam Kanmoi,’ ‘Koothanchatty Kanmoi,’ ‘Pooran Kanmoi,’ ‘Oothu Kanmoi,’ ‘Pillaiyar Kanmoi,’ ‘Parayan Kanmoi,’ ‘Chinnar Oothu Kanmoi’ and ‘Thulukkan Kanmoi.’
The former Collector, G. Sundaramurthi, in his counter affidavit, had refuted the petitioner’s averments.
He claimed that the water tanks went dry due to insufficient rains.
Stating that two of the quarry lessees were dumping the waste in their private lands, he said that only one of them was permitted to dump the waste in the peripheries of the water bodies to create bunds.
He further said that the quarrying operations did not affect irrigation or fish culture or other ecological factors.
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