Government to move Supreme Court on quarry strike

Kochi: In a move aimed at ending the two-week-old strike by the granite quarry and crusher industry in the state, the government has initiated steps to file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against a High Court order which stayed the relaxation in the minor mineral concession rules for small quarries. 

 

"We have sought the opinion of the advocate-general for moving the apex court," principal secretary (industries) P. H. Kurian told Deccan Chronicle. "We shall hire a senior lawyer and seek time till April 1, 2016, for the small quarries to get environmental clearance." 

 

A provision in the Minor Mineral Concession Rules of 2015 said the government will not insist on environment clearance from quarries which held a valid permit for 2014-15 when they apply for renewal. The High Court had stayed the provision.

 

The quarry and crusher industry launched the strike on September 14 demanding that the State government take steps to get exemption from environmental clearance for small quarries by petitioning the Central government, move the Supreme Court seeking a stay on HC order and make temporary arrangements to enable functioning of the quarries.

 

"There are about 3,000 quarries in the state out of which only 64 have environmental clearance while some of them have their permit period still to lapse," said Davis Pathadan, president of the Registered Metal Crusher Owners Association. "About 90 per cent of the small quarries are left with no option but to shut operations as they do not have the legal sanction to function." 

 

It is estimated that the each quarry produces on average 500 tonnes of granite a day. "This also means a huge loss to the government exchequer," he said. 

 

The strike has already hit the entire construction industry and developmental activities, including the work on Kochi metro, in the state.

 

Harish Vasudevan, the lawyer who moved the High Court against the concession in the rules, said the environmental clearance is mandated by the Environmental Protection Act, which is a Central Act, for the renewal of quarry permits.  "No state government can offer concessions in the same," he said. "Instead of siding with the quarry owners, the government should implement the law of the land."