Karnataka - Belgaum   

Greens against nod for quarrying

Staff Correspondent

`Permission granted despite Government order against issuing fresh leases in Western Ghats'

Belgaum: Paryavarni, a city-based environment organisation, has alleged that the Deputy Director of Mines & Geology, Belgaum, has accorded permission to operate stone quarries in three acres of land in survey number 29 in Navaga village in Khanapur taluk for five years in contrary to the government order.

In a complaint filed on behalf of the villagers to Secretary (Ecology and Environment), Department of Forests, Ecology and Environment recently, Pariyavarni secretary Srihari Kugaji and member Raveendra Kumar Saini, said that the Government had issued an order against issuing fresh lease for operation of mining/quarrying activities in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.

Villagers of Lalwadi, Navaga, Zadnavaga and Koundal that fall under the jurisdiction of Hebbal Gram Panchayat in Khanapur taluk had been affected by pollution.

Threat to health

There was also threat to their health and life, and buildings had developed cracks owing to the blasting activities. There were schools just half a kilometre away from the blasting site, they said.

Requests had repeatedly been made to the Khanapur Tahsildar, Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Belgaum and Director of Department of Mines & Geology, Bangalore, but they had been of no avail, the Paryavarni said.

The government order clearly said that quarries shall be allowed only in sites that had been opened for the purpose prior to 1980. Also, the area of each quarry shall not be more than 1.23 acres. But the case in question was fresh and it involved three acres of land, they said.

The Government should immediately stop quarrying operations, pay compensation to the villagers affected and take action against erring officials, the Paryavarni members said.

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