Minister for Mines and Water Resources Duraimurugan on Tuesday told the Assembly that since the Supreme Court had allowed it, the government could not prevent the transportation of mined products [such as crushed stones, rough stone and M-sand] from districts of Tamil Nadu to Kerala.
“It is not just from Kanniyakumari. We cannot prevent transportation of mined products from other districts of Tamil Nadu to Kerala,” he said while replying to Congress member J.G. Prince, who alleged that large-scale transport of mined products from Kanniyakumari had wreaked havoc on the eco-sensitive district.
The Minister said that just because the district was enriched with dams, forests and hills, one could not prevent the transportation of mined products. “But we do not disagree with the argument that it is an eco-sensitive area. That is why we have closed 12 of the 15 quarries in the district and there is no quarry now,” he added.
Mr Duraimurugan also agreed that movement of heavy vehicles between Kanniyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram had damaged the road since it was a single-lane road. “We can restrict load. But the government will listen to the voice against transportation and act accordingly,” he said.
Mr. Prince said the big rocky hills [in the Western Ghats] should not be ravaged for quarrying and stones available underground could be used for the use of local residents. “Even if we spent crores of rupees, we cannot create a hill. The government should file a petition in the Supreme Court and prevent transpiration of mined products,” Mr. Prince demanded.
