Thrissur: The Kerala Quarry and Crusher Coordination Committee has announced a state-wide indefinite strike demanding immediate revision of the new quarry policy and withdrawal of the latest order by the industries department.

The strike, in which over 630 quarry and 1,200 crusher units will take part, will begin on September 25.

The operators are up against the new policy that empowers mining and geology officials to levy penalties on illegal mining dating back to 1985.

In a meeting held on April 24, attended by the industries department principal secretary, the state government decided to allow the licenced quarry and crusher operators to clear their papers by paying fines. It was also decided to conduct special Adalats for the same.

‘Govt hell-bent on destroying the sector'
“However, to our shock, many of us received notices to pay penalties worth crores of rupees," M K Babu, general convener of the Coordination Committee told Onmanorama.

"An operator was asked to pay Rs 42 crore as a fine. This is at a time when discussions are on regarding the increase of royalty by 100% (from Rs 24 to Rs 48 per tonne), security fee by 400% (from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh) and fine imposed on violation of the Lease Act by 2,000% (from Rs 25,000 to Rs 5 lakh). Either the government is squeezing us for the financial crisis it is in or is hell-bent on destroying the sector."

The panel held an executive-level meeting in Thrissur on Wednesday.

Babu said that as per the government order, the penalty has to be paid in six monthly instalments. "What is more shocking is that the order directs the mining and geology officials to levy fines proportionally based on the permitted quantity in the absence of proper documents and evidence to find illegal mining," he added.

Construction sector to hit hard
The strike is expected to hit the construction sector in the state hard. At present, state-run infrastructure development projects are affected due to stones and sand shortages.

“Already many quarry and crusher units are closed due to various local and political issues. Normally, the construction industry starts to pick up by mid-September. By the time the strike starts, we will run out of the existing stock. If the agitation prolongs, it will result in a standstill situation in the construction sector,” a realty developer said.