Sagayam panel seeks details from forest officials

As part of his probe into alleged illegal granite mining in the district, senior IAS officer U Sagayam, appointed by Madras High Court to look into the matter, today held discussions with forest officials.
District Forest Officer Nihar Ranjan accompanied by his department personnel appeared before the Sagayam Commission.
Sagayam, who held several rounds of inquiry with officials of different departments such as agriculture and PWD, inquired about the damage caused by the granite quarry owners to the forest area, officials said.
He also asked for details about trees cut by illegal miners in the forest area.
Later, Sagayam requested the DFO to submit a detailed report on the illeal mining in the forest area.

Sagayam as the then District Collector of Madurai had in 2011 pegged loss to the state exchequer due to illegal granite mining at Rs 16,000 crores over the years.