Haunted by heavy beach erosion due to illegal beach mining across the region, Viapar is a coastal village in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district. The erosion issues have transpired to neighboring villages as well.
VV Minerals India has been held responsible for this catastrophe through several allegations that have surfaced over the time. A report suggests that the company encroached 30 hectares of government land and other mining lease violations.
Ashish kumar, district collector, received transfer orders during his investigation stint on illegal beach mining. There is, however, no evidence to suggest that the transfer orders were influenced by Vaikundarajan’s political connections.
VV Minerals, while speaking to NDTV, denied these allegations and claimed that the charges made by the former district collector are baseless, motivated and vague.
A letter written by first District Collector, V Sundaram, to the Chief Secretary of the state in January 2013 accuses VV Minerals of illegal mining worth over Rs. 96,000 crores.
The letter also accuses state government departments of supporting VV Minerals, saying that the mining lease was given to them within 72 days, while the other companies still await for permission.
Vaikundarajan, founder of VV Mineral, was quick to dismiss these allegations as a conspiracy by its business rivals.
Ravindram Duraiswami, advocate for VV Mineral was quoted by NDTV, "Sundaram is passing this as a cruel joke. He is on the payroll of our business rival. Our hands are clear. We will come clean from these allegations.”
Headlines have been buzzing over the ban of sand mining in South India. The allegations involving VV Minerals have frequently found itself at the center of news.
S Vaikundarajan, who established VV Minerals India in 1989, runs the company out of Tisayanvilai, a town 65 km from Tirunelveli city in south Tamil Nadu. The company has won several national awards for its contribution to the export business.
One of the reasons why little is known about VV Mineral Vaikundarajan is because of his media-shy personality. Local people recognize him as a simple man in white shirt and dhoti.
Following the allegations, the state had set up an investigating team. Recently, there has been a controversy surrounding one of the inquiry officers – IAS Gagandeep Singh Bedi.
According to sources, Mr Singh has been helping the business rivals of VV Minerals India. This directly affects the nature of investigation and was rightfully contested by VV Minerals.
In a new setback to the mining company, Madras High Court has stayed the removal of IAS officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi.
A relief came when Justice CS Karnan set aside 32 orders in favor of mining companies. He also berated government’s decision to cancel the licenses of the mining companies.
VV Mineral Vaikundarajan has been optimistic throughout the investigation and insists things will turn around for good.
S Vaikudarajan, the founder of VV Minerals India, is a simple man who prefers to keep a low-profile. For two decades, his mining company has operated without attracting any controversy.
Recently, accusations have been pointed towards the company’s operations. Former IAS officer V Sundaram has openly accused the company of looting 96000 crores through illegal mining. However, there is no evidence to support the statement.
VV Mineral Vaikundarajan constantly finds himself pressurized under allegations of illegal sand mining and having strong political influence.
In the wake of these allegations, the state government has setup an investigating committee to look into these matters.
S.Vaikundarajan’s loyalists have come out strongly in support of the mining baron, ridiculing the business rivals for forging false allegations.
VV Mineral Vaikundarajan is based out of Tisayanvilai town in Tirunelveli district in south Tamil Nadu. Donning a simple white shirt and dhoti, he is known to keep out of media attention. This is one of the reasons that there are no photographs of him on public forums.
In August 2011, auditors of VV Minerals stated that the company had not commenced operations as on March 2010 – the latest period for which accounts were available.
VV Mineral Vaikundrajan maintains that these allegations are baseless. He further extends his support to the investigating team and assures that the result will be in his company’s favor.
