Kerala | Sept 22, 2015:

Thanks to the escalating property price in the district, illegal mining of red earth has turned out to be new money spinner for former goons in Ernakulam.

The eastern parts of the district including places like Piravom, Muvattupuzha, Malayattoor, Kothamangalam and Kunnathunad areas has seen a sharp rise in mining of red earth. The real estate lobby, after securing building permits for domestic purpose, extract red earth on a large scale for sale in Kochi city and suburbs.

“The activity is gradually evolving into the nature of an organised crime with many former goons turning their focus to the real-estate sector’’, said a top official with the Ernakulam Rural Police.

The Mining and Geology Department has recorded about 51 cases of illegal mining this year and seized several vehicles including tipper trucks and excavators. Every month, the department receives around five complaints in this regard.

The price of red earth for filling one cent of land is pegged between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000. In most cases, the red-earth extracted without permit is used for reclamation of wetlands in the district.

Manulal P Ram, district officer with the District Mining and Geology Department, attributed the rise in red earth mining to loopholes in the government order, which allows unlimited extraction for domestic purpose. “People are misusing this in a big way as it has been a lucrative business. The shortage of field staff is proving to be a major hurdle’’, the official explained.

Rules stipulate people to extract red earth only with a valid building permit. Permission from the Mining and Geology Department is required to extract red earth for commercial purposes and for mining beyond a plinth area above 300 sq m.

Commenting on the issue, S.Suhas, Sub Collector, Fort Kochi said steps were being initiated to check illegal land reclamation in the city and suburbs, which fuels illegal mining. “We are invoking provisions of the Kerala Paddy and Wetland Act in cases of illegal land reclamations. On the other end, revenue officials including tahsildars and village officers have been directed to conduct field visits and report operations of illegal mines’’, the official said.

(Source: http://www.thehindu.com/)