The Human Rights Forum (HRF) demanded that all permissions accorded for mining of quartzite near the villages of Dalaivalasa, Gottivalasa and Vuddavolu in Garugubilli mandal of Vizianagaram district be cancelled immediately.
Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, the members of HRF who had conducted a fact-finding tour, said that if the mining was allowed, it would cause immense injury to the health of hundreds of families residing in the area as well as devastate water bodies, farming and dairy. Quartzite mining undertaken for over 10 years in the area has already wrecked immense havoc.
A four-member HRF team visited the area on Monday and spoke with residents of these villages.
“We were shocked on seeing the extent of destruction due to unmitigated mining for quartzite in close vicinity to houses. This is in open violation of the Supreme Court order of December 12, 2003 in Civil Appeals No. 1907-1914 of 2000 which states that mining cannot be permitted within 2 km from any habitation,” said V.S. Krishna, AP and TS coordination committee member.
He also stated that the AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) guidelines state that distance between boundary of mining site and human habitation, educational institutions and religious places should not be less than 500 meters. But the distance between the quartzite mine and Dalaivalasa village is a mere 180 meters, he pointed out.
K.V. Jagannadha Rao, HRF A.P. State vice-president, said that mining has only impoverished an otherwise vibrant farming community in the area.
There are streams that emanate in the mine area hill that feed the huge Konkamaani tank adjacent to Dalaivalasa village. Inflows into this cheruvu, which has an ayacut of nearly a thousand acres, will invariably deplete. The mining hill is also grazing land for a large number of cattle from Dalaivalasa, Sivarampuram, Ullibhadra and Vudddavolu villages particularly between August and December. They are in danger of being totally deprived of this precious resource, said Mr. Jagannadha Rao.
Because of the nature of quartzite mining, the local people have had to put up with intermittent blasting and inhale continuous dust taking its toll on human health, contaminating drinking water sources in the area and negatively impacting agriculture.
Entry of quartz particles in human body through inhalation, through water and other ways is known to cause cancer and several life-threatening diseases, the HRF members pointed out.
Public hearing
Presently, there are three fresh mining leases in the villages of Dalaivalasa, Gottivalasa and Vuddavolu with the proponents seeking Environmental Clearance for which a public hearing is to be held on March 9. The combined production capacity of the quartzite is around 7,01,984 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA).
If the earlier approved capacity for which mining was done for several years near Dalaivalasa was a mere 6000 MTPA, one shudders to think what the cumulative impact of these three mines with such a large capacity would entail, pointed out Mr. Krishna.
HRF demands that all attempts to mine quartzite in the area be immediately stopped and existing licences be revoked. A comprehensive investigation must be carried out to identify and prosecute all those who did not enforce requisite regulations and facilitated these illegalities, the HRF members said.
