CHENNAI: Sand truck owners in Tamil Nadu on Friday announced a three-day token strike from Nov 1 to 3 to protest the alleged corruption in transport and mining departments, selective enforcement of overloading rules and continued mineral smuggling to neighbouring states.In a statement, the Tamil Nadu State Sand Lorry Owners’ Federation said its members would stop overloading their vehicles and refuse to pay monthly bribes to officials. The federation said the strike was intended to draw the attention of the chief minister and the transport minister to their demands.“We welcome the state govt’s decision to extend the three-month ban on transporting minerals from Tamil Nadu to neighbouring states by another three months. However, some restrictions are being violated, with around 300 loads of construction materials being transported daily to Karnataka through Hosur from border areas,” said S Yuvaraj, president, Tamil Nadu State Sand Lorry Owners’ Federation.One of its key demands is the introduction of an integrated e-way bill system connecting the revenue, GST, finance, transport, police and geology and mining departments. The federation said this would help prevent mineral theft, illegal transportation and tax evasion while reducing the need for police personnel to intercept lorries on roads.It also urged the govt to make GPS and vehicle location tracking devices (VLTD) mandatory for vehicles transporting minerals. “Truck owners are willing to install the devices. The geology and mining department should announce that vehicles without GPS would not be loaded from November 1,” Yuvaraj added.The federation alleged that more than 3,000 crushers in the state were operating without proper permits and accused the geology and mining department of failing to act against violations. It raised concerns over quarry operators allegedly forcing truck owners to accept overloaded consignments and alleged that enforcement agencies selectively booked vehicles belonging to operators who refused to pay monthly bribes. “Cases should be registered against both consignors and consignees in overloading violations, but the provision is not being implemented,” he said.The federation called on the govt to ensure uniform enforcement of rules against both vehicle owners and those loading the materials.
