The Adani group has received environmental clearance to open 10 new quarries so far in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta districts.
The group had approached the government seeking permission to operate 16 quarries, eight under direct control and the rest with private partnership on the condition of providing 50% of stock in each quarry for Vizhinjam port works.
The State had issued licence to operate five quarries so far, of which two are under the direct control of Adani. Environmental clearance for five quarries has been granted now, which will be functional soon, and three are under the process of getting clearance. Similarly, three applications are also under the consideration of various departments.
Speaking to The Hindu, an official said the process of granting licences for new quarries had many formalities. The Revenue department had provided no-objection certificate to all the 16 quarries. But it would take over an year to get all clearances.
Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL), entrusted to develop and operate the deep-water multipurpose port, had approached the government seeking permission for quarrying inside the State in the wake of shortage of boulders for construction of the 3.1 km-long breakwater as part of port construction.
The port developer could procure only 40.23 lakh tonne of granite so far, around 46% of the estimated 87 lakh tonne required for construction.
Officials said there was no other way other than granting licence for quarrying in the State to complete the work at least by next year. Though the Port department had set a deadline for completing the work by May 2023 to bring a ship to the port, it remained to be seen whether the work could be finished by the deadline.
