COIMBATORE: The district administration is in the process of finalising an expert committee and it will take at least six months to prepare a remedial plan for Thadagam Valley whose ecology has been severely damaged by red sand mining for brick kilns, Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati stated in a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (Southern Zone).
He added that the formation of an expert committee for the purpose of re-assessment of environmental compensation would be completed in a month. “The decision to reopen brick kilns shall be considered only after the preparation of a comprehensive plan as per the guidelines of the central pollution control board,” the collector said in the report that was submitted to NGT on September 19.
Further, Pati said quarrying for red soil for brick kilns shall not be permitted in the valley due to wildlife interference in the area. “The forest department has been requested to submit a detailed report on whether quarrying of brick earth can be permitted in the future.
The expert committees which were constituted by the environment, climate change and forest departments to identify the elephant corridors in two landscapes with the Palakkad Gap are in the process of examination of the same and the reopening of the brick kilns in the Thadagam and other HACA villages shall be considered only upon completion of the study,” he said.
Speaking to media persons on Thursday about the report, Pati said, “The report was prepared as per the discussion arrived in the joint meeting with departments concerned (August 4). We did not make any conclusion if brick kilns should be opened or not. The NGT will decide on the issue.” NGT had taken up the issue of suo motu in April 2021 based on media reports. The next NGT hearing will take place on November 6, 2023.