Fed up with the alleged apathy of government officials and local administrators responsible for curbing rampant quarrying in environmentally sensitive areas, some of the local action committees and residents have decided to approach the Kerala High Court for justice. They plan to secure a stop memo against such units, citing suspected incidents of corruption and submission of fake documents for winning operational permit.
The action committees from various villages in Kozhikode arrived at the decision, citing the alleged failure of a district-level experts’ panel in exposing illegal practices in the sector. According to them, the panel constituted by the district administration after the recent episodes of rain-related calamities in ecologically sensitive areas is yet to check even the validity of clearance certificates issued by various departments to quarry operators.
The action committee leaders hope that they can prove their claims in court based on the details and proof secured using the Right to Information Act from various departments. The documents are expected to show how rules and regulations were flouted to start quarry ventures or resume operations of previously shut units in environmentally sensitive regions.
A group of residents from Thenaruvi near Kakkadampoyil will be the first group to move the court, challenging the operations of a granite quarry in their area. The protesters say the quarry located close to the controversial Kakkadampoyil water theme park, which was closed following environmental issues, will expose the duel standards adopted by the authorities concerned.
‘Wrong claims’
“We have reasons to believe that the quarry operators have furnished wrong claims or documents to secure operational permits from the authorities. Even the expert panel constituted by the district administration recently has not looked into such aspects during its recent checking,” says Rocky Chandy, a resident of Thenaruvi.
Soil piping
The local action committees and environmental activists collective in Mukkom and Kodiyathur villages will also take the legal route to challenge the operations of more than five granite quarries that cause huge pollution and threat to the environment. The committees are planning to submit to the court latest scientific studies covering areas where the phenomenon of soil piping was confirmed.
According to Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti leaders in the area, the Soil Conservation or Geology Departments have done no satisfactory follow-up action even after conducting a field study in 67 locations where the impact of natural calamities was huge.
