MADURAI
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday summoned the Collector of Kanniyakumari on a public interest litigation petition that complained of indiscriminate stone quarrying in Kalkulam in the district.
A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and S. S. Sundar, which was hearing the petition filed by G. Jose Fredy Miller of Kanniyakumari, also ordered notice to the district authorities.
The petitioner said that 17 villages in the district were in proximity to Kanniyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, an eco-sensitive zone. A notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change made it mandatory to obtain clearance from the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife for quarrying operations in the area.
However, the Collector had granted licence for quarrying within a distance of 10 km from the wildlife sanctuary. Moreover, the quarry operators had failed to obtain environmental clearances, the petitioner said.