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Government drops move to privatise sand quarries

— Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at the all-party meeting in Chennai on Monday to discuss “quarrying of sand.”

CHENNAI: Bowing to the demand of its allies, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government on Monday decided not to go ahead with the decision to privatise sand quarrying.

In a resolution adopted at the end of a meeting of political parties represented in the Assembly here, a resolution was adopted to the effect that the government would continue sand quarrying across the State. Trucks could be permitted to carry up to three units of sand and the law should be amended to ensure that sand was not smuggled to neighbouring States, it said.

A committee comprising secretaries of the Industries department, the PWD, Revenue and Home departments will be constituted to study the present system and present a report to the government.

The main Opposition party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, its ally, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam stayed away from the meeting, protesting against the government move to privatise sand quarrying.

Sand quarrying was in private hands till October 2003. The AIADMK government took over quarrying in a bid to prevent overexploitation of the natural resource and to boost revenues. The DMK government continued this policy. It announced on May 19 that sand mining would be leased through tenders and open auction.

At the meeting on Monday, Congress Legislature Party leader D. Sudarssanam, who was highly critical of the government in the last Assembly session over the manner in which quarrying operations were being carried out, asserted that new problems would arise if the government leased quarries.

PMK president G.K.Mani, who had also voiced his concern both on the floor of the House and outside, opposed privatisation and said that stricter rules should be framed and implemented.

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