The Alappuzha Karimanal Ghanana Virudha Ekopana Samithi (KGVES) has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into mineral sand-mining at Thottappally.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, KGVES chairman S. Suresh Kumar alleged that the Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) had transported 54-lakh tonne of mineral sand from Thottappally pozhi in the last three years. “The KMML has been ferrying sand from Thottappally day and night using 300 trucks, each having a capacity of 20 tonnes since 2019. In the absence of a weighbridge, the company is removing and transporting sand as per its will. The KMML with the support of powerful people in the government indulges in corrupt practices by transferring the sand containing atomic minerals to private companies. A court-monitored CBI probe is needed to unearth the extent of corruption,” Mr. Kumar said.
The KGVES said the State government had allowed the KMML to extract mineral sand from pozhi in the name of disaster management (preventing floods in Kuttanad) at the rate of ₹464.55 per tonne as against the market rate of ₹14, 618.
