MADURAI : The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently told the Kanniyakumari district authorities that they must periodically inspect mining and stone crushing activities in the district, and take stern action even on slightest of deviations.
The direction was issued on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by one O Homerlal, in 2018, seeking to stop all illegal quarrying activities in the district. Homerlal claimed that while the Kerala government is clamping down on illegal quarry operations in its state, such activities continue in Kanniyakumari, particularly near the western ghats, and with the connivance of government officials. He added that the minerals are then transported to Kerala.
Given the gravity of the allegations, the court had earlier suo motu impleaded the state secretary of the industries department in the case, and sought a detailed report from the collector on the number of licenses granted to quarries in the district.
Based on the said direction, the district collector filed a report stating that 44 leases were granted for quarrying rough stone (43) and earth (1) on patta lands in Kanniyakumari district. "As of now, 11 quarry leases granted for quarrying rough stone in the district are in existence. Out of that, only six are operational," the report added. The report further mentioned that pursuant to an order passed by the high court, quarry activities in eco-sensitive areas had been stopped.
Recording this, a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay V Gangapurwala and Justice G Ilangovan observed that the authorities are duty-bound to abide by the restrictions imposed by the statute, regulations, and the rules. They further issued the above direction and disposed of the petition.