KOCHI | Sept 07, 2016: The Kerala High Court has issued notice to the state government on a petition alleging that amendments made to mining rules in compliance to a Supreme Court order are in fact detrimental to protection of environment.

An organization based in Thrissur named One Earth One Life filed the petition alleging that a ban imposed through the rules against granting quarrying permit to land owners who had similar permits in the past was later diluted by the government by stipulating a cut-off date.

In the Kerala Minor Mineral Concession Rules of 2015, which was published in February 2015, it was specified that no land owner who availed quarrying permits for a total of three years in different spells was eligible for a permit.

However, in October 2015, government amended the rule to state that such ban on granting quarrying permit is only applicable from the date of publication of the second amendment (October 5, 2015). The order also said a person who holds a quarrying permit can continue with such activity for more than three years if he is able to satisfy the conditions in the rules regarding quarrying leases, the petition said.

Introduction of a cut-off date does not have any reasonable nexus to the object sought to be achieved that is protection of environment. It is not beneficial to the environment as there are quarry owners who had been conducting quarrying operations from the same area for more than 10 years, it is alleged.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)