An all-party meeting chaired by Agriculture Minister P. Prasad on Thursday decided to suspend soil extraction by levelling a hillock at Mattappally in Palamel grama panchayat near Mavelikara.
The meeting entrusted District Collector John V. Samuel to visit the mining site and submit a detailed report to the government immediately. The mining activities will remain halted until the District Collector submits the report. Officials said that the Kerala High Court would be apprised of the developments at Mattappally.
Mr. Prasad said that the District Collector would look into the mining permit issued by the Department of Mining and Geology and whether standard operating procedures were followed at Mattappally. The meeting asked District Police Chief Chaitra Teresa John to investigate and submit a report into the allegations that people, including women, protesting against the mining had been roughed up by the police.
Last week, residents clashed with the police over the removal of soil from Mattappally for the development of the National Highway 66 at Kayamkulam. It resulted in the arrest of over 100 people. After mining activities resumed at Mattappally earlier this week under tight security, residents, including women and children, hit roads in protests. Following this, Alappuzha district administration officials held talks with the contractor and protesters. The talks led to a temporary halt to soil extraction until Thursday.
Residents fear that “indiscriminate” mining would be detrimental to the environment and result in an acute drinking water shortage in the region.
Earlier, the State government and the High Court permitted soil extraction from Mattappally. The residents, however, have filed an appeal in the court challenging the single-bench order. The move to extract soil before a decision by the High Court’s division bench infuriated the residents and resulted in protests.
Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, M.S. Arunkumar, MLA, and other officials attended the all-party meeting held at Maveliakra.
