Quarries in district to be put under the scanner

KOCHI: Stringent measures will be initiated to ensure that the quarries in the district adhere to rules, said District Collector P I Sheik Pareeth.He said that sanctions for new quarries will be accorded only after formulating a single-window facility, which will ensure the representation of the department of mining and geology, pollution control board and also the members of the local bodies.It will be chaired by the District Collector.“A list of the quarries in the district will be made available soon.Departments such as police, revenue, industries, panchayat will also be sought to conduct a joint inspection in this regard,” Pareeth said.The collector also said that the stipulated distance and the depth to run a quarry will be brought under strict observation.Such a decision was taken in the wake of growing complaints from the general public.The collector added that an alternative will soon be charted out to find out mining belts in the district.B Sivaprasad, general manager, Industrial centre; Manulal P Ram, geologist; P Latha, panchayat deputy director; and scientists from the pollution control board also attended the meeting.