The Association of Southern Stone Industries (ASSI) on Monday urges the Tamil Nadu government to permit the reopening or reviving of granite quarries and improvise the livelihood of 30,000 workers. ASSI president P Rajasekaran told the reporters before August 2012, 175 queries were operational in Madurai district. 

Followed by few allegations, show cause notices  were issued to 84 granite quarries and the remaining 91 quarries were instructed to shut citing that they were in-operational for two years. The shut down causes adverse impact and loss to industry and banks, besides loss of jobs. In an approximate average 100 workers were employed in a quarry, meaning a total of 17,500 rural workers were working in the industry. Apart from them, 12,500 workers were involved in incidental and ancillary works like workshop, transport operators, spares, electricians, mechanics, machinery suppliers, among others. A total of 30,000 workers have lost their livelihood and their family were in distress for the last eight years, he added.

Considering 2011-12 as the base year, the revenue loss to the state government in terms of royalty payable for the period 2012-13 to 2019-20 due to closure and non-operation of granite quarries in Madurai district alone was Rs 212.24 crore (Rs 26.53 crore for a year). The loss in terms of foreign exchange for the same period was Rs 3,386.24 crore, he added. Considering the difficulty of the granite quarry workers, the ASSI urged the state government to grant permission for reviving/re-opening the granite quarries.

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