In a decision that is bound to have far-reaching consequences, the State Cabinet has exempted quarries up to one hectare from the need to secure environmental clearance.

Talking to the media after a meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the decision was taken in the light of the strike by quarries and crusher units to protest the revised rules for issue of mining licence.

The resultant short supply of rubble had affected development projects across the State, he said.

Citing the huge financial burden for securing environmental clearance, small quarry owners had been exerting pressure on the government to relax the new licencing rules.

But experts and a section of government officials maintain that the Cabinet decision is not legally sustainable. Lawyer and environmental activist Harish Vasudevan said the move to exempt quarries up to one hectare from environmental clearance amounted to a violation of the Supreme Court judgment in the Deepak Kumar vs the State of Haryana and others case.

On February 27, 2012, the apex court had ruled that leases of minor mineral, including their renewal for an area of less than five hectares, be granted by the States/ Union Territories only after getting environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests..............Read more

Source web page: The Hindu