The Madras High Court on Thursday restrained a contractor from continuing quarry operations on the strength of permission granted by the Tiruvallur Collector on July 8 to quarry 4,725 lorry loads of topsoil from Tirukandalam lake in Tiruvallur district.
Justices M.M. Sundresh and R. Hemalatha granted the interim injunction for a week and directed Additional Advocate General S.R. Rajagopal to submit by September 17 all details regarding the permission given for removal of top soil from the lake.
The interim orders were passed on a public interest litigation petition filed by local agriculturalist M. Umachandran, who accused the contractor of flouting the conditions of the permission and quarrying much beyond the permissible limits even during night.
