District Collector T.N. Hariharan on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the large-scale mining of red earth for brick kilns being continued in Thadagam valley.
The action was taken following a report in The Hindu on Thursday on the mining going on unchecked in Thadagam, which can potentially affect the ecosystem of the valley.
Status report
The Collector has instructed the Revenue Department and the Department of Geology and Mining to submit a status report on the mining of red earth taking place in Thadagam valley.
“The Collector has directed the Joint Director of Mining and Geology and the Tahsildar (Coimbatore North) to inspect the mining activities going on in the valley and submit a report,” said a reliable source from the district administration.
As per the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, quarrying shall be done only for an optimum depth to be specified by the District Collector so that the land shall be restored to a state fit for cultivation.
However, the deep pits formed due to mining in Thadagam valley could be a violation of the rule as deep pits, some even beyond 50ft, will barely fit for the cultivation of any crops.
The Forest Department too has taken a serious note of the mining in close proximity of the reserved forest in Thadagam valley.
Assistant Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Deepak Srivastava said to The Hindu that the department would check whether any forest area was encroached upon for mining the red earth.