Kerala - Kollam   

End in sight to mining issue

Staff Reporter

After Ministers convene meetings with residents

KOLLAM: Two separate conferences called on Wednesday with the landowners of the Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited's (KMML) targeted mining areas at Kovilthottam and Ponmana in Kollam district have paved the way for a settlement of the mining issue.

The general impression given from the Government side is that the issue will be settled by September 15.

The meetings were called by Industries Minister Elamaram Karim and Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran, who is also the MLA from the area, in the presence of District Collector B. Srinivas and management representatives of the KMML.

After the meetings, the Ministers told mediapersons that in the backdrop of the discussions, the Government was confident that the KMML would be able to resume mining in the disputed areas from Friday.

Residents of the area had blocked mining in the areas in question as the KMML had allegedly failed to implement an agreed package.

Since the package was finalised in 2002, representatives of the residents demanded some amendments to the package based on the present land value and other relative demands.

Settlement

Mr. Karim said that the Government would try to find out an amicable settlement to the issues. He said that the issue would be solved and settled by September 15. Mr. Karim said that a time bound implementation of the package would result in normalising relations between the KMML and the residents of the mining areas.

Mr. Premachandran said that the Government fully understood that mining could go ahead peacefully only by taking the people living in the mining areas into confidence.

Desalination plant

With regard to the desalination plant mooted by the KMML for drinking water supply to the local residents, Mr. Karim said that the practical aspects in this regard would have to be examined.

The Government would examine on what grounds the company had earlier allocated Rs.18 crores to a private contract company for the purpose. Similarly, all aspects of the proposed expansion programme for the company would be examined in detail and a final decision arrived at, he said.

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