Eco activists, under the banner of the Kollam District Environmental Protection Coordination Council, will take out a march to the District Collector’s residence here on November 20.
The council would seek responsible action on part of the administration to protect natural resources, council chairman T.K. Vinodan and general secretary S. Babuji said here on Tuesday.
The district administration, the police, and the Kerala State Pollution Control Board appeared to be swaying to the whims of the mafia, they said.
A good quantity of granite and sand resources in the district had been looted. Water resources had been polluted. The Sasthamcotta lake, the main drinking water source of the district, was shrinking due to rampant sand-mining activity, they said.
At the Elamad-Cheriyavelinellur-Karalikonam belt, a granite company had violated all laws by converting an 85-acre rubber plantation into a granite quarry. The company had also encroached upon huge tracts of government land to set up quarries. The authorities had not taken any action, the office-bearers said.
At Kudavettur and Nedumankavu, more than 40 unauthorised granite quarries and an equal number of crusher units were operating. The sand mafia appeared to fearing none in the West Kallada region, Mr. Vinodan said.
The data bank system, intended to identify and protect the paddy fields and wetlands, appeared to be a cosmetic exercise in the district, they said.
