'Firm owned by Alagiri's son indulged in illegal quarrying'

Madurai, Sep 5: Tamil Nadu Industries Minister, S P Velumani, has alleged that a granites firm owned by Dayanidhi Alagiri, Union Minister M K Alagiri's son, has been indulging in illegal quarrying of granite worth crores of rupees in and around Melur near here.

Velumani, who made a surprise inspection of Olympus Granites here, told reporters yesterday the firm had indulged in "vast exploitation and plundering" of the granite wealth.

"Instead of quarrying 10 per cent of stones at the quarry site, for which licence had been given, the firm had quarried 100 per cent of the granite wealth. They had even quarried from the nearby patta land also.

"We have enough proof to prove our charge against Dayanidhi Alagiri," he said.

Alagiri had earlier rejected an allegation by Velumani that he was involved in illegal granite business and challenged him to either prove his charge or quit the Assembly membership.

Velumani said he had been asked by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to carry out the inspection in the aftermath of the denial.

Velumani said the granite firm was started in 2006 and jointly run by Dayanidhi Alagiri and one Nagarajan of Madurai.

The firm had been violating government norms to quarry at the Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited (TAMIN) granite quarry site for the past five years, he said.

Moreover, forged documents had been prepared to substantiate that Dayanidhi Alagiri had quit from Olympus Granite one year before the AIADMK government came to power in 2011, the Minister alleged.

Warning that action would be taken against the culprits who indulged in illegal quarrying, he added that the quarrying licence could be cancelled if residents of nearby hamlets submit petitions that it caused environmental damages.

PTI