THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A special investigation team has been constituted to keep a tab on the illegal quarries functioning in the district, District Collector K Vasuki has said. The decision on forming a team was taken in a meeting with people’s representatives, local residents and the police. L R Deputy Collector V Vinod will lead the probe. The meeting also decided to seek the assistance of local police to rein in illegal quarries. The Collector also asked quarry owners to produce the sufficient documents, including their quarry licence on December 8.
The respective tahsildars in the district are also told to conduct resurveys at the quarries to check whether they had encroached on government properties. They have been asked to submit a report in this regard before December 15. Meanwhile, the decision on finalising the compensation amount for the families of the two deceased and the six injured in the illegal quarry mishap in Marayamuttom on Friday will be taken at the next Cabinet meeting.
Vigilance to identify illegal quarries functioning in the state
Close on the heels of the Kunnathukal quarry mishap, the state vigilance geared up for an extensive probe on the quarries functioning in the state. The decision was taken by State Police Chief and Vigilance director Loknath Behera to prevent such accidents in future. He has also directed the respective district police chiefs to keep a register at each police station to verify the licences of quarries functioning in their station limits.
An action plan will also be prepared soon aimed at safety measures to be followed during mining along with the support of Fire and Rescue services team and the Mining and Geology Department.
The vigilance will investigate whether any government bodies had provided the licence to any of the quarries overlooking rules and regulations. The sleuths will also take stringent action against corrupt officers who gave the permit to allow the quarry at Kunnathukal to function under risky conditions.