[28/08, 11:08] sekarreporter1: [28/08, 11:07] sekarreporter1: https://x.com/sekarreporter1/status/1828668260780237008?t=YyUTdWgdgs7H1AkJWtb2Bw&s=08
[28/08, 11:07] sekarreporter1: Illegal quarrying of earth. Hon’ble First Bench directed to Inspect the Quarry and asked to file status report on the next hearing
[28/08, 11:08] sekarreporter1: IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
(Special Original Jurisdiction)
W.P.NO. OF 2024
C.Palanisamy,
S/O. Chinnadurai,
D.No. 2/186, Mela Street, Paranam Village and Post,
Senthurai Taluk, Ariyalur District. …Petitioner
-Vs-
1). The Director of Geology and Mines,
Office of Director of Geology and Mines,
Guindy, Chennai-32.
2). The District Collector,
Office of District Collector, Ariyalur.
3). The Executive Engineer (RD),
Rural Development and Panchayet Raj Department,
Office of District Collector, Ariyalur District.
4). The Assistant Director (Geology and Mining),
Office of Geology and Mining, Officer of District Collector,
Ariyalur-621704.
5). The Revenue Divisional Officer,
Office of Revenue Divisional Officer,
Udayarpalayam Division, Udayarpalayam,
Ariyalur District.
6). The Thasildhar,
Office of Udayarpalayam Thasildhar,
Jayankondam, Ariyalur District.
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7). M/S. Patel Infrastructure Limited.,
Patel House, Beside Prakruti Resort, 3, BP Estate,
Chhani Road, Chhani, NH8, Vadodara,
Gujarat. ..Respondents
AFFIDAVIT FILED BY THE PETITIONER
I, C. Palanisamy S/O. Chinnadurai aged about 50 years residing at Door No. 2/186, Mela Street, Paranam Village and Post, Senthurai Taluk, Ariyalur District now temporarily come down to Chennai do hereby solemnly affirms and sincerely state as follows.
1). I am the petitioner herein and as such am well known with the facts of the case. I am filing the above writ petition as public Interest Litigation for welfare of the public who are residing at Ariyalur District.
2). I respectfully submit that the 2nd respondent herein granted permission to 7th respondent for quarrying the earth for execution of construction of Highways project namely four laning of Cholapuram to Thanjavur NH 45C. The 2nd respondent granted permission for quarrying of the earth with certain conditions like quarrying of the earth should be done without any damage to the water course and water bodies, should be done not below 1m, should be done without damage to the trees found in the tank, damages of the Village Panchayat/Union roads to be rectified at
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the end of the quarrying, the excavation of earth pit should be regular shape such as rectangular or square, after completion of excavation of earth, the tank bed shall be leveled uniformly without any obstacles to the free flow of water towards sluice, quarried minerals should be used only for the bonafide Highway Project.
3). I respectfully based on the permission granted by the 2nd respondent the 7th respondent and their authorized persons were made quarrying operations on several lakes existing at Ariyalur District such as Ponneri @ Solangam lake, Suthamalli lake, Kovathattai lake, Government Porampoke land existing at Kunjaveli, Mutuvancherry, Sathambadi, Keelanatham villages. Further, based on the permission granted to quarry in the patta land, the 7th respondent quarried the soil existing in the adjacent Government Porampoke Land. Further, as per the permission granted by the 2nd respondent the 7th respondent herein has to quarry only to an extent of 1 meter in depth, whereas they had quarried more than 20 feet and apart from that they had excavated the soil 20 times higher than that of the permitted area of quarrying thereby caused much revenue loss to the Government. The 7th respondent and his members unlawfully quarried soil and transported the same through the lorry without having permit or over and above 50% of weight as permitted for transportation and
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sold the same to third parties. Though the license was granted to the 7th respondent for quarrying operation of the earth only for the purpose of construction of National Highway NH45C,whereas the 7th respondent and his members are doing quarrying operations unlawfully and selling the soil to sand mafias.
4). I submit that the 7th respondent transporting the quarried soil through huge multi axle Lorries beyond the permitted level of weight as per the Central Government Notification and thereby caused damage to the public road and frequent accidents.
5). I submit that the petitioner and local public made several agitations, Dharna and protest against the illegal mining of the soil in the Ariyalur District, whereas the respondents had not considered the same. The petitioner herein also made several representations before the respondents herein requesting to take appropriate action against the 7th respondent and others for illegal quarrying operations, however the respondents herein so far not considered the same.
6). I submit that I have made several representations dated 08.09.2023, 05.07.2024 and 06.07.2024 requesting the respondents herein take appropriate action to stop the illegal quarrying
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operations and take appropriate action against the 7th respondent and others for illegally quarrying the earth beyond the permitted area and restrain them from transporting the overloaded quarried soil through lorries.
7). I submit that after receipt of the representation of the petitioner, the 1st respondent herein directed the 2nd respondent to take appropriate action on the representations of the petitioner and report the same to him.
8). I respectfully submit that even though the 1st respondent in his proceedings dated 20.07.2024 directed the 2nd respondent to take appropriate action on the representation of the petitioner, the 2nd respondent herein so far not taken any action for illegal mining of the soil by the 7th respondent and others.
9). I submit that the 7th respondent was permitted for quarrying operations of the earth to construct the NH45C, whereas the 7th respondent and his members quarrying the earth and selling the soil to the sand mafias for huge amount. Though the 2nd respondent had granted license for quarrying operation to quarry the earth for 1 meter in height, however the 7th respondent quarried the earth for more than 20 feet and illegally transported the soil without having permit. The 7th respondent had quarried
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more than 20 times of the area allowed him for quarry and further obtaining license for performing quarrying operation in the patta land they illegally adjacent Government Porampoke land and thereby caused huge revenue loss to the Government and ecological damage. The 7th respondent and his members used to transport overloaded soil through multi axle lorries and thereby damaged the public road and caused frequent accidents. I submit that for the above said illegal operations of the respondents only the petitioner had made representations to restrain the 7th respondent and others from illegal mining operations at the Ariyalur District especially in the Udayarpalayam Taluk, but the 2nd respondent had not considered the same, hence without having any alternative and efficacious remedy the petitioner herein is filing the above writ petition by invoking Art 226 of Constitution of India.
10). I submit that petitioner has no personal Interest and by way of Public interest he is filing this petition as could also be seen from the Prayer and in the event of this Court comes to the conclusion that the petitioner has filed a frivolous petition, he is giving an undertaking that I will pay the cost if any if it is found to be intended for personal gain or oblique motive. The petitioner is filing this Petition out of his own funds. The petitioner is an social Page No.6
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activist and advocate and earning annual income of Rupees Ten Lakh and my Pan Number is CCLPP5462J.
11). I respectfully submit that this is the first writ petition before this Hon’ble Court and there is no other Writ petition is pending in the present facts and circumstances of the case.
For the foregoing reasons it is prayed that this Hon’ble Court may pleased to issue a Writ of Mandamus by directing the 2ND respondent to take appropriate action against the 7th respondent and others including the officials of the Government who are allowing for illegal quarrying operation of the earth at Ponneri @ Solangam lake, Suthamalli lake, Kovathattai lake, Government Porampoke land existing at Kunjaveli, Mutuvancherry, Sathambadi, Keelanatham villages at Ariyalur District by considering the representation of the petitioner herein dated 08.09.2023, 05.07.2024 and 06.09.2024 within a reasonable time as fixed by this Hon’ble Court or pass such other order or direction this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and thus render justice.Solemnly affirmed at Chennai
on this the 20th day of August 2024 BEFORE ME
and signed his name in my presence
MEMORANDUM OF WRIT PETITION
(FILED UNDER ART 226 OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
(SPECIAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION)
W.P.NO. OF 2024
C.Palanisamy,
S/O. Chinnadurai,
D.No. 2/186, Mela Street, Paranam Village and Post,
Senthurai Taluk, Ariyalur District. …Petitioner
-Vs-
1). The Director of Geology and Mines,
Office of Director of Geology and Mines,
Guindy, Chennai-32.
2). The District Collector,
Office of District Collector, Ariyalur.
3). The Executive Engineer (RD),
Rural Development and Panchayet Raj Department,
Office of District Collector, Ariyalur District.
4). The Assistant Director (Geology and Mining),
Office of Geology and Mining, Officer of District Collector,
Ariyalur-621704.
5). The Revenue Divisional Officer,
Office of Revenue Divisional Officer,
Udayarpalayam Division, Udayarpalayam,Ariyalur District.
6). The Thasildhar,
Office of Udayarpalayam Thasildhar,
Jayankondam, Ariyalur District.
7). M/S. Patel Infrastructure Limited.,
Patel House, Beside Prakruti Resort, 3, BP Estate,
Chhani Road, Chhani, NH8, Vadodara,
Gujarat. ..Respondents
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WRIT PETITION
The address for service of all notices and processes on the petitioner is that of his counsel M/S. R.NALLIYAPPAN, N.PREMALATHA, T.MOHANRAJU & D.JEEVITHA at 428 Law chambers, High court Buildings, Chennai.
The address for service of all notices and processes on the Respondent is the same as stated above.
For the for the reasons stated in the accompanying affidavit it is prayed that this Hon’ble Court may pleased to issue a Writ of Mandamus by directing the 2ND respondent to take appropriate action against the 7th respondent and others including the officials of the Government who are allowing for illegal quarrying operation of the earth at Ponneri @ Solangam lake, Suthamalli lake, Kovathattai lake, Government Porampoke land existing at Kunjaveli, Mutuvancherry, Sathambadi, Keelanatham villages at Ariyalur District by considering the representation of the petitioner herein dated 08.09.2023, 05.07.2024 and 06.09.2024 within a reasonable time as fixed by this Hon’ble Court or pass such other order or direction this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and thus render justice
Dated at Chennai this the 20th day of August 2024
COUNSEL FOR PETITIONER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
W.P.NO. OF 2024
Palanisamy …Petitioner
-Vs-
The Director of Geology and Mines and others …Respondents
INDEX TO THE TYPE SET OF PAPERS
S.No. Date Description of documents Page No.
1 20.08.2024 Dates and Events 1
- 20.08.2024 Synopsys
- 20.08.2024 Coding Sheet
4 20.08.2024 Court Fees
5 20.08.2024 Writ petition
6 20.08.2024 Affidavit
TYPED SET
7 — Aadhar Card of the petitioner
8 — Pan Card
9 18.08.2018 Notification of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
10 21.10.2021 Proceedings of the 2nd respondent
11 16.02.2023 FIR
12 08.09.2023 Representation of the petitioner with acknowledgments
13 08.10.2023 FIR
14 12.03.2024 FIR
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15 05.07.2024 Representation of the petitioner with acknowledgments
16 06.07.2024 Representation of the petitioner with acknowledgments
17 — Photographs
18 20.08.2024 Vakalat
19 20.08.2024 Batta
Certified that the copies furnished herein are true copies
Dated at Chennai this the 20th day of August 2024COUNSEL FOR PETITIONER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
W.P.NO. OF 2024
Palanisamy …Petitioner
-Vs-
The Director of Geology and Mines and others …Respondents
DATES AND EVENTS
08.09.2023,
05.07.2024
&
06.07.2024 The petitioner herein made representations before the respondents herein to take appropriate action against the 7th respondent for illegal quarrying operations of the earth at Ariyalur District especially at Ponneri @ Solangam lake, Suthamalli lake, Kovathattai lake, Government Porampoke land existing at Kunjaveli, Mutuvancherry, Sathambadi, Keelanatham villages
29.07.2024 The 1st respondent directed the 2nd respondent to take appropriate action on the representation of the petitioner, but despite of the fact the 2nd respondent had not taken action on the representation of the petitioner herein
Dated at Chennai this the 20th day of August 2024
COUNSEL FOR PETITIONER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
W.P.NO. OF 2024
Palanisamy …Petitioner
-Vs-
The Director of Geology and Mines and others …Respondents
SYNOPSYS
i). it is submitted that the 2nd respondent herein granted permission to 7th respondent for quarrying the earth for execution of construction of Highways project namely four laning of Cholapuram to Thanjavur NH 45C. The 2nd respondent granted permission for quarrying of the earth with certain conditions like quarrying of the earth should be done without any damage to the water course and water bodies, should be done not below 1m, should be done without damage to the trees found in the tank, damages of the Village Panchayat/Union roads to be rectified at the end of the quarrying, the excavation of earth pit should be regular shape such as rectangular or square, after completion of excavation of earth, the tank bed shall be leveled uniformly without any obstacles to the free flow of water towards sluice, quarried minerals should be used only for the bonafide Highway Project.
ii). it is submitted that based on the permission granted by the 2nd respondent the 7th respondent and their authorized persons were made quarrying operations on several lakes existing at Ariyalur District such as Ponneri @ Solangam lake, Suthamalli lake, Kovathattai lake, Government Porampoke land existing at Kunjaveli, Mutuvancherry,
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Sathambadi, Keelanatham villages. Further, based on the permission granted to quarry in the patta land, the 7th respondent quarried the soil existing in the adjacent Government Porampoke Land. Further, as per the permission granted by the 2nd respondent the 7th respondent herein has to quarry only to an extent of 1 meter in depth, whereas they had quarried more than 20 feet and apart from that they had excavated the soil 20 times higher than that of the permitted area of quarrying thereby caused much revenue loss to the Government. The 7th respondent and his members unlawfully quarried soil and transported the same through the lorry without having permit or over and above 50% of weight as permitted for transportation and old the same to third parties. Though the license was granted to the 7th respondent for quarrying operation of the earth only for the purpose of construction of National Highway NH45C,whereas the 7th respondent and his members are doing quarrying operations unlawfully and selling the soil to sand mafias.. ‘
iii). It is submit that the petitioner herein also made several representations dated 08.09.2023, 05.07.2024 and 06.09.2024 requesting the respondents to take appropriate action against the 7th respondent and others, but the respondents herein so far not considered the same. Hence, the petitioner herein filing the above writ petition.
Dated at Chennai this the 20th day of August 2024
COUNSEL FOR PETITIONER