Nooranad mining: Geology dept ignored SOP, previous study, says Collector's report

Alappuzha: Amidst the continuing uncertainty over the resumption of soil excavation from the ecologically sensitive Mattappally Hill near Nooranad, Alappuzha District Collector has submitted a report on the legitimacy of the mining operation here.

Though Collector John V Samuel declined to disclose the details of the report, revenue department sources said that the study reiterated the all-party meeting’s finding that the Geology Department had failed to follow the SOP (standard operating procedure) for site visits and inspections while granting permission for the contractor to carry out soil excavation. The department also ignored a previous study by the Centre for Earth Science Studies into the environmental vulnerability of the region, the study noted.

Samuel told Onmanorama that the report was submitted on Wednesday, as per the directions of an all-party meeting convened by Agriculture Minister P Prasad.

The all-party meeting, convened on November 16, entrusted the Collector to assess whether the SOP as laid down by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had been followed while granting permission to mine at Mattappally.

“While the SOP stipulated that the geology department officials should visit the site and grant permission for soil excavation after assessing its impact on the local ecology, the Collector is yet to receive any evidence on this,” said an official, referring to the report.

During the all-party meeting, geology department officials said all documents relating to the SOP had gone missing from its files. The collector’s report, however, calls for a detailed inquiry to ascertain how these documents went missing. It also recommends stern action in case the inquiry unearths a deliberate attempt to hoard those documents.

With the Collector’s report confirming non-compliance with the SOP, the matter is now slated to be taken up to the High Court, which is considering a petition in this regard. Alongside, the Collector has been also directed to convince the court about the ecologically fragile nature of the location and the hill’s role in ensuring drinking water and previous natural calamities reported in the area.

Earlier, the all-party meeting had directed the Geology Department to consider further applications for soil excavation in Palamel Panchayat based on the report pointing to the environmental vulnerability of the region.

Meanwhile, local residents at Mattappally maintain a constant vigil over the mining site here in anticipation of a possible resumption of mining. Three days ago, the contracting agency had attempted to resume the process under heavy police protection but had to back out in the face of stiff resistance put up by the residents.