Quarry owners urge government to lift ban on quarrying
Mangalore Today News Network
Mangaluru, Mar 20, 2021: The Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District Quarry Owners Association has urged the state government to lift restrictions imposed on quarrying in the wake of the explosion of gelatin sticks that killed six people near a quarry in Chikballapur district. Addressing a media conference held on Friday evening at Hotel Ocean Pearl in the city, Manoj Shetty, the President of the Association said that quarry industry was in deep distress as the government has ordered the quarry operators to suspend all activity and also imposed unrealistic demands. He said quarrying activity has come to a standstill in the state and this will have adverse impact on construction industry and also affect the livelihood of thousands of workers who are employed in the quarries.
“The present suspension of quarrying activities in the state is a panic response of the state government to the recent accident at Shimoga and Chikkaballapur. The new terms and conditions imposed by the state are impractical and confusing. The unfortunate accident leading to this situation should be investigated thoroughly and the quarry industry assures total compliance with any new safety regulations if required. Hence we urge the government to immediately withdraw the ban orders on quarrying and allow us to resume normal operations without delay,” Manoj Shetty said.
Satish Kini, President of Udupi Chapter of the Association, Ravindra Shetty, Vice President FQC Karnataka, K. C. Kamath, Vice President, Saju Neeliyara, Treasurer and Mohan Amin, Secretary were present during the press conference.
The following the full text of the media release issued by the Association:
Following the tragic death of a few people in an explosion outside a quarry site at Shimoga / Chikballapur recently, the entire quarry industry of Karnataka has fallen into deep distress. The state government has ordered all licensed quarry operators to immediately suspend all quarrying activities and it has imposed impractical terms and conditions for restarting the operations. Presently there are about 190 licensed quarries operating in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts providing direct employment to about 6000 workers and indirect employment to thousands of other people. Furthermore this industry generates about Rs. 75 crore in direct revenue to the government in the form of payment of royalties. After the blasts in Shimoga / Chikkaballapur district, the licensed quarry owners are being unnecessarily harassed and subjected to harsh treatment by various government departments and the police while neglecting the root cause of the problem, which lies in the rampant illegal quarrying activities which is widespread in the state.
The affected licensed quarries are mainly engaged in the production of construction stones, which are a basic raw material for the construction industry of the region. As the quarrying activities are paralyzed for the last 10 days, this will have huge negative impact on the local economy and bring construction activity to a standstill. Hence, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District Quarry Owners Association appeals to the state government to immediately allow restart of quarrying in the state. All licensed quarry operators are already required to strictly abide by the environmental laws and safety regulations. Quarry owners of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts have an excellent track record of compliance with the laws and there have been no widespread violations till date. Hence there is no reason for the government to suspend the quarrying activities and disrupt the livelihood of large number of people.
The Association has already submitted a detailed memorandum to the state government giving all the problems, confusions, demands and suggestions for its consideration. The Association urges the state government to immediately stop the persecution and victimization of the licensed and law abiding small quarry operators and instead to focus its attention to curb the illegal quarrying which is destroying the legitimate quarrying industry as well as causing environmental and safety hazard.
ISSUES AND DEMANDS
Confusion regarding License / Permission
Presently the quarry owners of Karnataka are operating under license issued by the state government and it is governed by KMMCR Act. The Mines and Geology Department has stopped issuing Mineral Dispatch Permits (MDPs) to the quarry owners without assigning any reasons. On further enquiry it was found that the quarry owners have been directed to seek permission from the Director General of Mines Safety (DGMS), which is a central government authority, for using explosive within quarry.
This has lead to a confusing situation and there is lack of legal clarity on the matter due to the conflicting positions and difference in interpretation of various central and state laws. The DGMS mainly deals with large industrial mining activities, whereas local quarrying is undertaken by small operators within land extent of less than five acres. As per DGMS rules, it has no authority to deal with small operations falling below 2.5 acres of land. Whereas Section 30 of the MMDR Act of the central government clearly stipulates that state governments are empowered to regulate and formulate rules for minor minerals. There is no mention of obtaining DGMS license in the Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1994.
Further when this anomaly was pointed out in the high level meeting held recently in the presence of Minister for Mines, Sri Murgesh Nirani, Chief Whip of Karnataka Sri Sunil Kumar and various MLAs from two districts along with Additional Chief Secretary Sri Kumar Naik, Director Mines Sri Ramesh, the officials of the Department of Mines and Geology, they were not in a position to point out the relevant act through which such an order was passed. But they still demanded that the quarry owners submit an affidavit undertaking to furnish DGMS permission within two months as a precondition to withdraw its ban on quarrying. This demand is illogical and impractical and it sidesteps the state government’s responsibility to allow legitimate quarrying by the operators under the license already issued by it. The present blanket ban is entirely unwarranted and it should be withdrawn without further delay. Furthermore the state government should bring clarity to this grey area in the law by making necessary changes in the rules to specifically exempt small quarry owners holding five acres or less from securing permission from DGMS.
Payment of Royalty
The state government collects a fixed royalty from the quarry operators depending on the quantity of extract permitted. The earlier practice was to issue the permit for extraction and collect the corresponding royalty. Subsequently, the rule for charging royalty was changed for transporting aggregate for government projects. Government contractors who also own quarry were allowed to transport aggregates to government projects with ‘zero’ permit by which the royalty could be paid at the end point (by deducting royalty from the bill of the government contractor).
In order to have a level playing field, ‘zero’ permit system should be extended to all licensed quarries. As 70% of the revenue is collected from the government projects, this will ensure no loss of revenue, while encouraging lawful quarrying and curb illegal activities.
Pending Licenses
The government has stopped issuing quarrying lease on the government properties as per the directions of Supreme Court with effect from 12.08.2016. However there is no impediment for granting lease on the basis of the application submitted prior to 12.08.2016. Hence the government is requested to process the pending applications at the earliest.
Regarding Deemed Forest
While responding to a query from the Supreme Court in an earlier unrelated case, the state government had identified certain areas as ‘deemed’ forests in order to show increased forest cover in the state, though the said lands to not fulfill the definition of forest. This has caused practical problems to numerous stakeholders including quarry license holders and prevented inhabitants to these lands to obtain khata for their land holdings. The state government is requested to immediately give clearance to these lands as it will also earn huge revenue to the state.