Activists have welcomed the interim order issued by the Madras High Court on Tuesday, restraining operations of 177 brick kilns in Thadagam Valley in Coimbatore district.
A recent order by Commissioner of Geology and Mining J. Jayakanthan allowed these 177 brick kilns, which were sealed in 2021 due to various violations, to continue operations after paying fines fixed for them, ranging between ₹ 3 lakh and ₹ 40 lakh.
After paying the first instalment of the penalty, a minimum of ₹ 2 lakh, many of these brick kilns had started selling old stocks and resuming other activities., activists had alleged.
S. Muralidharan of Indian Centre for Animal Rights and Education (INCARE), on whose petition the court issued the order, wanted the Commissioner’s order dated December 29 to be quashed.
S. Ganesh of Thadagam Valley Protection Committee argued that the penalty fixed by the Commissioner was too low as it did not come anywhere close to the fine recommended by the joint committee appointed by the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for violations and environmental damages.
While the penalty fixed by the Commissioner for the 177 brick kilns was about ₹ 13 crore, the NGT-tasked five-member committee headed by the Coimbatore District Collector had recommended a fine to the tune of ₹ 433 crore in July 2022.
Mr. Ganesh charged that the ₹ 433 crore recommended by the NGT-appointed committee itself was very minimal, considering the quantum of soil that was excavated illegally from the five villages over several years.
Also, the committee had stated that it conducted the survey only in accessible areas and its finding should be considered as the minimum quantity of brick earth excavated illegally, he said.
Mr. Ganesh said that the illegal mining also led to huge loss for the State government other than environmental degradation in the Valley. He wanted disciplinary action to be initiated against the Commissioner, alleging that his order was issued when the High Court and the NGT were hearing cases related to mining and issues related to elephant corridors.
Meanwhile, the Coimbatore District Police installed surveillance cameras in different locations in the Valley to monitor the movement of vehicles, including trucks, which were allegedly being used to transport bricks, especially at night.
