Allegations of illegal sand mining against E.V. Velu will be probed, says the Tiruvannamalai Collector

Large-scale illegal sand mining in the dry lake bed at Malappambadi village near  Tiruvannamalai, allegedly by senior DMK leader and former PWD and Highways Minister E.V. Velu, will be probed, Collector Vandana Garg has said.

In an interaction with The Hindu, she said the district administration was aware of the complaints of illegal sand mining in the lake. An inquiry committee would be formed to probe the charges of sand theft that had allegedly caused a loss to the exchequer. “We are discussing the issue of illegal sand mining in the lake. An inquiry committee will be formed to conduct a detailed probe into it,” Ms. Garg said.

The Collector’s remarks came in the wake of the complaint lodged by Arappor Iyakkam, an NGO, with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in Chennai on August 13. The complaint said a large quantity of sand from the dry lake bed was illegally mined by Mr. Velu and his supporters for levelling an open land, spread over 124.56 acres, to organise the DMK’s northern zone youth wing conference on December 14 last year.

The conference was attended by DMK president and former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and his son and former Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi. The sand theft had caused a loss of ₹8  crore to the exchequer, the complaint said.

Arappor Iyakkam also accused Mr. Velu, who was the DMK’s northern zonal in-charge for the 2026 Assembly election, of overseeing the logistics for the conference. “The sand from the lake bed was illegally mined to a depth of around 10 feet-23 feet and to an extent of around 12 acres as against the permissible limit of one metre in depth under the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959. The excavated sand could be used only for local agricultural, pottery, and domestic purposes,” the complaint said.

The NGO alleged that residents, farmers, and members of farmers’ organisations, led by environmental activist  Arul Arumugam, had sent complaints about the illegal excavation of sand to the Collector, the Tahsildhar, the Village Administrative Officer, and the  Tiruvannamalai Corporation. But no action was taken.  Arappor Iyakkam  has urged the DVAC to register a First Information Report against Mr. Velu and others.