Stone quarries violate norms, drain Tamil Nadu's cash inflow, says EPS

In a statement, the LoP said that the new DMK government had tweaked the permit norms given to the stone quarries from the earlier practice of once in 15 days to once in three days. This not only creates a bureaucratic hassle for the stone crushers but the crushing unit operators are forced to waste almost a day to avail the permit. Earlier these permits were issued once in a month or once in 15 days, EPS noted. He also said that the permits are issued for the quarrying sites to mine up to 12,000 units of gravel stones per year and this rule had again been changed to 1,000 units of gravel per month affecting the industry. The industry operates as per the requirement and crushing stones without demand serves no purpose, EPS said.

The recent changes will only increase the prices of gravel stones and create an artificial market affecting the consumers and the construction industry, the AIADMK leader said seeking transparency over the issue of quarry operations.

It may be noted that the Madras High Court in its recent observation had expressed health hazard concerns over the operations of the quarries and had directed the district collectors and Tamil Nadu pollution control board authorities to put strict conditions and arrest pollution.