
HC orders CB-CID probe into illegal sand quarrying case involving government officials
The Hindu
Taking into account that several government officials from departments like revenue, police, agriculture and mining facilitated illegal sand quarrying in Tirunelveli district, the Madurai Bench of the
Taking into account that several government officials from departments like revenue, police, agriculture and mining facilitated illegal sand quarrying in Tirunelveli district, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has ordered a CB-CID probe into the case. It was hearing a batch of petitions that sought direction to the authorities to restrain Manuvel George, a resident of Kerala, from misusing the quarry licence that was granted to him. The petitioners alleged that he was involved in illegal sand theft. Manuvel George had been granted licence for storing and processing rough stone, m-sand, gravel and crusher dust in Kallidaikurichi, Ambasamudram in Tirunelveli district. But, he had also indulged in illegal sand quarrying in the adjacent land including the Vandala Odai dam.
In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












