Sagayam starts probe on irregularities in granite quarrying

Senior IAS Officer U Sagayam, appointed by the Madras High Court to probe alleged irregularities in granite quarrying in the district, today commenced the job with consultative meetings with officials of various departments.
Assisted by 14 officials, Sagayam said he had held one round of consultative meeting with the officials of various departments, including Mining, Income Tax, Agriculture and Animal Husbanday.
He said he would receive petitions from various sections of people, including those who were affected by encroachers.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sathyanarayanan had on September 11 named Sagayam as special officer/legal commissioner to probe mining leases issued by government and "violations" by permit-holders.

Sagayam, the then Madurai District Collector, had pegged loss to the state exchequer on account of irregularities in granite mining at Rs 16,000 crore over a period of years.