The district administration has decided to launch a crackdown on unauthorised granite quarrying and ensure compliance with safety norms in the district.
Addressing a meeting of top Revenue officials in the district here on Saturday, District Collector P. Venugopal said an official committee would be constituted soon to ensure strict compliance with the rules and regulations by the operators of various quarries in the district. Revenue Divisional Officers in Thiruvalla and Adoor and a representative of the State Pollution Control Board would be members of the committee. It would inspect the quarries and submit a report within a month. Stern action would be taken against unauthorised quarries, he said.
A committee headed by the District Geologist would inspect all the quarries and crusher units in the district soon to assess the quantity of rock that could be quarried and crushed at each one of them.
The Collector said the operators of the quarries and the crusher units should remit five per cent of the value of the rock quarried towards levy to the government. Taluk-level committees chaired by the tahsildar concerned has been constituted to assess the rate of rock in each taluk. Representatives of the Mining and Geology Department, Public Works Department (Buildings), State Pollution Control Board and a representative of the quarry or crusher unit owner would be included in the committees, he said.
The meeting also decided to properly fence the sides of the granite quarries situated along the roads and pathways to check accidents.
Mr. Venugopal said legal action would be taken against those who were found
blasting rocks in the government land without obtaining permission. He asked the District Geologist to intimate the Deputy Collector concerned about the number of ‘P-forms' given to each granite quarry in the district.
M.C. Sarasamma, Adoor RDO; Antony Dominic, Thiruvalla RDO; Abdul Samad, Deputy Collector; Jyotishkumar, District Geologist, and representatives of quarry-crusher unit operators attended the meeting.
