‘‘Man’s mad rush after modernisation with scant regard to environment conservation has made climate change a sad reality. As many as 200 granite quarries and crusher units have been operating on the Western Ghats and various other hills in Pathanamthitta alone, despite the fact that hardly 36 of them have the licence. It is high time the government took a serious look into the matter against the backdrop of the recent devastating landslips in the State,” Western Ghats Protection Council (WGPC) leaders E.P. Anil and Avinash Palleenazhikathu have said.
Sensing the danger, the Pathanamthitta Collector has banned granite quarrying in the district till August 16 following heavy rain forecast for the region.
Senior scientist and head of the Hydrological Process Group of the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) in Thiruvananthapuram D. Padmalal told The Hindu that it was high time our planners seriously thought about ensuring resource extraction for regional development in a sustainable manner.
Rocks and hills are rich resources of water and indiscriminate granite and earth quarrying have already dealt irreparable damage to the State’s ecosystem, Thomas P. Thomas, retired Botany professor and environmentalist, said.
Western Ghats
According to Mr. Anil, a study by the Kerala Forest Research Institute found that as many as 75 quarries were situated in earth quake-prone seismic points in the State, he said. Konni taluk alone housed not less than 50 quarries.
Mr. Avinash said the Collector had banned quarrying in a 15-acre area of a private quarry in Konni where an unusual gap was found on the rock following a tremor three years ago. However, the quarry operator managed to resume quarrying following a change of guard in the district.
The WGPC called for a scientific survey and mapping of rock formations in the State by a competent government agency.
The list of available rock formations should be published and licences be granted accordingly. No permit should be given in any other areas. The quantum of rock available for quarrying in an area needs to be estimated.
No coordination
Dr. Thomas alleged that separate licences were given by different departments such as Revenue, Mining and Geology, State Pollution Control Board, Health, Explosives, police, etc.
This ultimately leads to a situation where no single agency is held responsible for the violations. He called upon the government to constitute a single authority and enact uniform laws with regard to mining of rocks without delay.
