Surprise checks by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) eastern range on Saturday unearthed large-scale unauthorised mining of granite from government-owned land at the Pappan Para and Subban Para areas in Chathurangapara village in Idukki.
According to sources, three persons illegally encroached upon the government land and mined large quantities of rocks.
According to officials, following verification by the Idukki District Geologist earlier, the Revenue department had seized vehicles used for mining and imposed a fine of ₹12 lakh for illegal mining, which the encroachers didn’t pay. However, the encroachers paid the fine amount for the vehicles and got them released. The geologist had fixed the quantity mined at 16,000 tonnes.
