The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Tamil Nadu has exposed financial irregularities in illegal sand mining, asserting that the government’s earnings were a mere ₹36.45 crore in the last two years. The revelation came in an objection affidavit filed by the ED regarding petitions from the Tamil Nadu government and ten district collectors.
The affidavit, representing assistant director KM Manjunathan, detailed how IIT-M experts, utilising scientific techniques like LIDAR, measured the sand mined. The team found an actual impacted area of 987.01 hectares, with 24 lakh units of excess mining, leading to a computed total sale value of ₹4,730 crores, a vast contrast to the recorded revenue.
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party Chief K Annamalai took to social media platform X to write on the issue. He wrote, “The assessment by the authorities is the tip of the iceberg for the volume of state-sponsored loot under this Corrupt DMK Government. It’s becoming clear that the DMK Govt is a party to this crime & with the going rate, the DMK Govt would ensure that our entire State is sold to the highest bidder before the end of its tenure.”
The assessment by the authorities is the tip of the iceberg for the volume of state-sponsored loot under this Corrupt DMK Government.
It’s becoming clear that the DMK Govt is a party to this crime & with the going rate, the DMK Govt would ensure that our entire State is sold to… https://t.co/2ufgtJPsfE
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) November 27, 2023
TN Govt Shielding WrongDoers – ED Alleges
The ED has accused the Tamil Nadu government of shielding wrongdoers in the sand mining irregularities. This allegation surfaced in response to petitions filed by the state government to quash ED’s summons to five district collectors in a sand mining money laundering case. The ED argued that challenging the summons hindered the ongoing investigation into “money laundering and the proceeds of the crime” linked to illegal sand mining, estimating the proceeds of the crime and loss to the exchequer at a substantial ₹4,730 crores.
The ED emphasised the stark difference between the permitted mining area and the actual impacted area, standing at 195.37 hectares and 987.01 hectares, respectively. The Madras High Court is poised to deliver orders on the petitions filed by the Tamil Nadu government and district collectors, challenging ED’s summons and its broader investigation into alleged illegal sand mining in the state.
(with inputs from The New Indian Express)
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