Panel's 'no' to rock sand unit at Koorumala
Renu Ramanath
A victory for people's struggle
KOCHI: The struggles of the residents of the Elanji panchayat against a rock crusher and artificial sand manufacturing unit proposed at Koorumala in the panchayat have received a backing with an expert committee, constituted by the panchayat to make the environmental impact assessment, coming out heavily against it.
The committee, with P.R. Sreemahadevan Pillai, national president, Indian Environmental Congress, and chairman, Environment Council of India, S. Satish Chandran Nair, director of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), and S. Sreekumar, was appointed by the panchayat in the face of mounting public protest.
The local people had been holding campaigns against the unit in the last couple of months.
All the three reports filed by the experts highlight the damage the proposed unit can do to the ecology of the area as well as the pollution to land, air and water. Another report, filed by the District Officer of the Groundwater Department also highlights the hazards to the groundwater system of the area.
The reports concluded that preventing the rock crusher and sand-manufacturing unit was advisable considering the environment and socio-economic aspects of the issue.
Dr. Pillai, in his report, pointed out that the area was not supposed to be an industrial area and should remain an area for agriculture. He outlined the possibilities of water, land and sound pollution as well as the other consequences that could be caused by the unit.
"As the area is facing acute shortage of drinking water, the debris from the quarry might pollute the entire sources of water, both surface and transmitted," he pointed out.
Besides, artificial sand requires washing with at least 2,000 litres per cube of sand, which will lead to huge discharge of polluted washout water. While the water requirements may affect the drinking water supply to the area, the washout water will further affect the meagre resources of water.
On the sociological aspect, it was pointed out that though a few settlements would be evacuated initially by offering lucrative offers, later on, more people living on the fringes of the plot would have to leave, due to noise and air pollution. At that point, they would have to be content with whatever the company offered.
The Groundwater Department's report also highlighted that the debris from the unit might cause threat to the water body in the area. It demanded that the valley on the foothill of the proposed blasting area on the south bank of the Muvattupuzha Valley Irrigation Project (MVIP) Canal would be kept out of any industrial activity including deposition of debris.
The Groundwater Department demanded that since the area faced acute water shortage, only domestic water requirement for the workers and staff of the industrial unit might be met from the available groundwater sources from the plot, that too, only 2,000 litres per day. The water required for the unit should be met from the surface water bodies in far-off areas.
(The Hindu-26/01/06, Thursday)
Renu Ramanath
A victory for people's struggle
KOCHI: The struggles of the residents of the Elanji panchayat against a rock crusher and artificial sand manufacturing unit proposed at Koorumala in the panchayat have received a backing with an expert committee, constituted by the panchayat to make the environmental impact assessment, coming out heavily against it.
The committee, with P.R. Sreemahadevan Pillai, national president, Indian Environmental Congress, and chairman, Environment Council of India, S. Satish Chandran Nair, director of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), and S. Sreekumar, was appointed by the panchayat in the face of mounting public protest.
The local people had been holding campaigns against the unit in the last couple of months.
All the three reports filed by the experts highlight the damage the proposed unit can do to the ecology of the area as well as the pollution to land, air and water. Another report, filed by the District Officer of the Groundwater Department also highlights the hazards to the groundwater system of the area.
The reports concluded that preventing the rock crusher and sand-manufacturing unit was advisable considering the environment and socio-economic aspects of the issue.
Dr. Pillai, in his report, pointed out that the area was not supposed to be an industrial area and should remain an area for agriculture. He outlined the possibilities of water, land and sound pollution as well as the other consequences that could be caused by the unit.
"As the area is facing acute shortage of drinking water, the debris from the quarry might pollute the entire sources of water, both surface and transmitted," he pointed out.
Besides, artificial sand requires washing with at least 2,000 litres per cube of sand, which will lead to huge discharge of polluted washout water. While the water requirements may affect the drinking water supply to the area, the washout water will further affect the meagre resources of water.
On the sociological aspect, it was pointed out that though a few settlements would be evacuated initially by offering lucrative offers, later on, more people living on the fringes of the plot would have to leave, due to noise and air pollution. At that point, they would have to be content with whatever the company offered.
The Groundwater Department's report also highlighted that the debris from the unit might cause threat to the water body in the area. It demanded that the valley on the foothill of the proposed blasting area on the south bank of the Muvattupuzha Valley Irrigation Project (MVIP) Canal would be kept out of any industrial activity including deposition of debris.
The Groundwater Department demanded that since the area faced acute water shortage, only domestic water requirement for the workers and staff of the industrial unit might be met from the available groundwater sources from the plot, that too, only 2,000 litres per day. The water required for the unit should be met from the surface water bodies in far-off areas.
(The Hindu-26/01/06, Thursday)
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