Kerala High Court disposes of petition on ‘illegal’ mining, exploration of beach sand minerals

Court directed Chief Secretary to examine petition and to forward it to the Secretary of the department concerned

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday disposed of a petition filed by BJP leader Shone George, who alleged that illegal mining and exploration of beach sand minerals from the Thottappally area of Alappuzha district and other coastal regions of Kerala were occurring under the guise of an order of the Disaster Management Authority.

The petitioner had alleged that mining was happening every year, under the guise of the order issued by the government for cutting open the sand bar and the removal of sand at the Thottappally spillway to alleviate the flood risk consequent to the situation post the 2018 and 2019 Kerala floods. The order was issued under the Disaster Management Act to circumvent the licence requirements under atomic minerals regulations, ecological impact clearance, and CRZ clearance for offshore mining activities, he contended.

The court directed the Chief Secretary to examine the petition and to forward it to the Secretary of the department concerned, who can take a decision by treating Mr. George’s petition as a representation. The court further stated that papers published by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and the other documents produced by the petitioner would indicate, apart from a legal position, several other aspects requiring expertise, ranging from mining to atomic energy. Considering the nature of the issues raised and the petitioner’s lack of expertise, the appropriate action would be to forward the petition to the Chief Secretary.

Published - November 19, 2024 08:10 pm IST