Palar river destroyed by illegal sand mining. DMK will have e-auctions for sand mining licenses #namakkunaame https://t.co/EroNSZqXUD

During his Namakku Naame tour through northern Tamil Nadu in November 2015, DMK Treasurer M. K. Stalin visited the dried bed of the historic Palar river to inspect the catastrophic ecological damage caused by unchecked sand exploitation. Pointing to massive craters gouged out by mechanized excavators, Stalin highlighted how illicit sand mining syndicates, operating under the patronage of ruling AIADMK politicians, had depleted local groundwater aquifers and destroyed irrigation systems that supported thousands of farming families. The devastation of the riverbed led to severe drinking water scarcity across Vellore, Ranipet, and Kanchipuram districts, turning fertile agricultural tracts into parched dust bowls. To permanently eliminate corruption and restore ecological balance, Stalin announced that a future DMK government would introduce mandatory, transparent electronic auctions for all sand extraction permits. Additionally, annual sand extraction quotas would be strictly curtailed to sustainable limits and monitored through GPS-based surveillance and environmental audits. Stalin reaffirmed that safeguarding vital river basins was non-negotiable for Tamil Nadu's survival, pledging comprehensive river restoration and groundwater replenishment projects to protect riparian ecosystems and secure agrarian livelihoods to protect natural water security for upcoming generations.