CHENNAI: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption ( DVAC ) has registered a case against former Tamil Nadu water resources minister Durai Murugan , three retired and serving officials, 14 public servants and 10 private individuals and firms over alleged irregularities in river sand mining between 2021 and 2024. DVAC officials conducted searches at 34 locations in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Friday and seized 825 documents, 11 electronic devices and three bank locker keys.




The case was registered based on the recommendation of the Enforcement Directorate's Chennai office after S Tamilselvan and Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam had filed complaints with the ED against the former minister and others.




According to the complaints, irregularities occurred in the awarding of contracts for sand mining in 28 quarries across Tamil Nadu. The allegations included awarding contracts through limited tenders instead of open tenders, extracting sand beyond approved mining plans and fabricating vouchers in the name of permit slips to facilitate illegal transportation.




The complaints alleged that these practices caused a loss of Rs 1,427.34 crore to the govt. The amount was calculated in connection with four of the 28 quarries mentioned in the complaints.




The accused included A Muthaiya and Ramamoorthi, both retired engineers-in-chief of the water resources department, along with 14 public servants of the department and private individuals and firms. DVAC agency said the investigation was continuing.