Theni: The Public Sector Units Committee
of Tamil Nadu Assembly ordered Theni District Collector
to immediately stop quarrying in Nali hill in T Subbulapuram
where a 400 year old ancient hill temple was located.
Chairperson of the committee and Congress MLA Yasodha was visibly upset when she saw a school located very near to the quarry, violating all the norms. Besides the members felt that further quarrying would affect the ancient Malleswaran temple the condition of which was already precarious.
They wanted to know how quarrying was allowed at the site
when it had been stopped by the officials earlier.
When the officials said the quarry had been given to a
self-help group, the members retorted the rule was same --
whether it is SHG or private company.
Yasodha also directed officials of the Tamil Nadu State
Transport Corporation (TNSTC) to withdraw bus fare hike under the pretext of non-stop, time saving and limited stop services if the same had been done without proper public notification.
Interacting with reporters here, Yasodha, who claimed she
was not aware of the hike, asked District Collector A
Muthuveeran to look into complaint.
Several officials present at the meeting said different
types of fares had been fixed for the same route, leading to
quarrels between the conductors and the passengers.
There were also complaints private bus operators in Theni
district also had hiked the bus fare on par with government
corporations.
Though the committee comprises 18 members, only three were present. Yasodha said others were busy with the flood relief works.
PTI
