Minister Prabhu orders inspection of quarries in TN

Tamil Nadu Minister T K Prabhu on Friday instructed officials to carry out an immediate inspection of all quarries across the state following complaints that more than 2,000 licensed quarries are extracting stone beyond the limits authorised by the government.

The central government's State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has issued various regulations specifying permissible extraction limits for quarries, but there are reports that these rules are being violated in several locations, the minister said in an official release.

''Allegations have also been made that members of the monitoring team known as Safety Mines have failed to properly oversee quarry operations,'' he added.

Prabhu, who holds the Natural Resources, Minerals and Mines portfolios, directed district mineral officers to carry out immediate inspections of every quarry in the state to determine whether extraction conforms to the quantities stipulated in government permits, and to check whether more stone than authorised has been removed.

''The minister has ordered a comprehensive verification of all quarries, following complaints that many sites are functioning without valid permissions,'' the release said.

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