THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Forest Department, in an attempt to prevent illegal mining, has decided to prepare a map of the entire 11,310 sq kms of forest land in the state, complete with its buffer zones or non-mining zones around forest fringes. The map is also expected to aid the Department of Mining and Geology to avoid issue of mineral concession in such areas. “It has been found that in certain forest areas mining is being carried out without the permission of the Department,” a top Forest Department official said.
The applicant, to organise mining inside forest areas, will have to get a ‘no objection certificate’ from the concerned divisional forest officer. The project will also have to satisfy the stringent conditions laid down by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority. “But forest areas are subjected to mining after getting a nod from the Mining and Geology Department alone,” the official said.
In Thrissur district, for instance, a granite quarry was functioning in forest land for over 20 years, in Peechi village. A stop memo was issued only in 2015.
Two quarries and three crusher units were functioning in assigned forest land in Mulayam village, Thrissur, from 2012. The Department issued a stop memo only in May 2016. Kerala Land Assignment (Regulation of Occupation of Forest Lands Prior to January 1, 1977) Special Rules, 1993, state that assigned forest land could be used only for cultivation, house sites or shop sites. One reason why such illegal activities go unnoticed is a forester’s poor understanding of forest boundaries. “Forest land is so scattered that it is hard to differentiate between forest and non-forest areas. Identifying buffer zones, therefore, becomes virtually impossible,” a DFO in a southern division said.
The KMMC Rules stipulate that quarrying should be held at least 100 metres away from the forest boundary. However, it is also a fact that the Department had completed a survey of forest lands. “It is just that the maps have not reached the field-level officers,” the DFO said. The patronage extended by the mining lobby is another reason why mines come up inside forests.
“The mining lobby adopts the area around their mine, besides greasing the palms of forest officials and local policemen. They conduct marriages and fund the education of officers and locals in the area, even reach firewood to poor houses,” a local forest official said. “If you rub them the wrong way, their threats can send an ordinary officer out of his mind,” he added. At least two petty forest officials had attempted suicide in the last year alone after alleged threats by the mining lobby.
