Tamil Nadu   

Can't go by greedy mine operator in case of conflict of interest: court

CHENNAI: If there is a clear conflict between public interest and private interest, the High Court cannot go by the undertaking given by a greedy mine operator who is determined to make as much money as possible within the shortest period with little regard to any reverence to either heritage or archaeology.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court made this observation in the context of a petition challenging the show cause notice issued by the Madurai District Collector in July 2009 against a private granite firm, whose quarrying operations in Thiruvadavur village of Melur taluk were found to be in violation of the Tamil Nadu Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules.

The village is known for Brahmi inscriptions, whose existence has been reported in the Annual Reports of Epigraphy since 1903. The inscriptions, according to the Court, speak volumes of the culture and life of the people who lived more than 10 centuries before. Quoting the Melur Tahsildar's report of July 2009, the court stated that the distance between the quarry and the monument was only 151 m instead of the stipulated 300 m. Besides, there had been unauthorised quarrying operations in the area.

In his order, Justice K. Chandru explained the significance of the inscriptions, quoting the views of several experts, as quoted in an article published by Frontline in its July 2009 issue.

Citing the article, the order stated that Iravatham Mahadevan, an authority on the Indus and Brahmi scripts, had said Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions were the only record of old Tamil, the one prior to Sangam poetry.

The court also said that the apprehensions expressed by Mr. Mahadevan and Director General of the Archeological Survey of India Gautam Sengupta in the article were not imaginary but based on concrete ground-level situation.

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Can't go by greedy mine operator in case of conflict of interest: court

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