Thiruvananthapuram | Jan 05, 2017: There had been isolated instances of deaths in quarries in the past and over the past two years, four lives were lost in similar incidents at abandoned quarries. But, the district administration has not considered the need to put in place an effective system to ensure public safety at abandoned quarries in the district.

As per the norms of Kerala minor mineral concession rules, the district collector shall constitute a fund called 'quarry safety fund' to meet the necessary expenses for ensuring the safety of abandoned quarries. A status check on the utilization of this fund draws a blank, fi one perused the information given by the officials of the department of mining and geology and district administration.

Officials of the department of mining and geology said 10% of the amount (royalty or consolidated royalty) is collected from every quarrying permit holder or lessee which needs to be contributed towards the fund. "Till date, not a single project was executed using the fund," said an official.

The department does not even have an updated list on the number of abandoned quarries, so that the proposals could be submitted to thecollector. An unofficial estimate showed that there are over 100 abandoned quarries in the district. District collector S Venkatesapathy said that steps are being initiated to use the quarry safety fund, probably for the first time. "The report ought to be submitted by the geologist. We are taking measures to check on the current status of fund," he said.

As per the latest amendment, two types of closure plans are in place for quarries that stopped functioning after 2015. The owners need to fill the pits, conduct afforestation and so on. The law clearly cites that the pits formed due to mining of minor minerals happen to be dangerous to the public. And if it is reported so by the local self-government institutions or geologist of the district offices of the department of mining and geology or revenue authorities, the district collector will issue orders to fence the quarry using concrete or iron pillars and iron ropes so as to avoid entry to the abandoned quarry pit, with the assistance of PWD by using the fund.

"No proposal was ever submitted in this regard and a major number of abandoned quarries lack fencing or protective covers," officials said. If the financial guarantee of the lessee is found insufficient, the collector can invoke provisions under the Revenue Recovery Act to recover the same from the person or his legal heir who failed to reclaim the mined pit.

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