IAS officer transfer in TN for cracking down on sand mafia

Ashish Kumar, who was the District Collector of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu till two days ago, was handed his transfer order on Tuesday evening. Earlier that day, he had conducted raids on mineral quarries owned by local mining barons in two villages in the district.

Hundreds of kilometres away from Uttar Pradesh, where a young IAS officer who went after the sand mafia, Durga Shakti Nagpal, was controversially suspended, Mr. Kumar told NDTV that illegal sand mining is rampant in Tuticorin.

He alleged that one of the mining companies he raided, VV Minerals, owned by an exporter called V Vaikundarajan, was illegally mining sand on nearly 30 hectares of government land in a village called Vaipar, though their lease allowed mining only on four hectares.           Mr. Vaikundarajan, say sources, is a businessman with political connections in high places including DMK, AIADMK and all political parties in the State

In Vembar, the other village he raided, the official said, "There was extensive mining but the remaining sand was never returned to its place to replenish, causing environmental damage."  The raids were conducted after several complaints by local fisherman, he said.              Mr. Kumar alleges that the sand mafia across India works in a close nexus with politicians. "Even in Tuticorin, there have been visible instances of such mutual cooperation and understanding."

Much like Durga Shakti Nagpal's suspension in UP, Mr. Kumar's transfer has caused a storm in Tamil Nadu. Opposition parties slammed the AIADMK government of J Jayalalithaa, condemning the transfer. Leader of Opposition Mr. Vijayakanth of the DMDK demanded in a statement that the Centre intervene "so that the Indian Administrative Service officials can perform their functions impartially."  The opposition wants Mr. Kumar's transfer stopped. But the 2005-batch IAS officer has already handed over charge in Tuticorin and is getting ready to take over as Deputy Secretary in the state's Department of Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme.

He says he views transfers positively but admits that he did not expect to be posted outright now. "As an officer, I have to obey government orders and work well. I hope they will take action on my report," he said. Mr. Kumar served as the Collector of Tuticorin for two years in which he came to be known for his crackdown on illegal sand mining.