The rocky hills stand as high as skyscrapers, with the earthmovers parked at the edge of a large greenish waterbody, formed by incessant quarrying, appearing like toy vehicles.
The Air Force Radar Station at the top edge of the hill looks like a mere speck. The straight, long cuts at the rocky edges and the vast area of water and land in front of it tell a story of the hills that disappeared over the past two decades of quarrying in Mukkunnimala, which stretches from Edakkode to Vilavoorkal and Machel to Paamancode, forming an imposing border at one end of the capital city. The only untouched hill in this region is perhaps the hand-drawn image of a towering hill stuck amid several pamphlets inside the office of the Mukkunnimala Samrakshana Samara Samiti in the nearby Pallichal junction.
Less vigour in protests
The protests against illegal quarrying that began five years ago have lost part of its vigour, with some of them being silenced by intimidating tactics of the quarry owners, while others being lured by money and gifts.
The ones who are still soldiering on are unofficial sentinels of the village that leads to the hills. But, most of them have been burdened by court cases, which take up their time, energy and money.
A few metres away from the samara samiti office is the tailoring shop of Radha Bai, women’s convener of the samiti. Even on a Sunday, she is restless, coordinating a meeting of the samiti over phone, while she is stitching a cloth.
“Quarrying still continues unabated. After the recent landslips in north Kerala, our fear has only increased. There is so much water trapped inside the deep pits. No study has been conducted in recent times by any of the agencies, on the kind of danger this poses. All of us, including me, have cases foisted on us, for charges ranging from obstruction of the quarry trucks to attacking the panchayat office. The frequent trips to the court itself takes a toll on us,” says Radha Bai.
Among those who are facing cases for being part of protests are government servants who fear the prospect of losing their jobs if they end up in jail. Then there are others like RTI activist V.V. Vijitha, who had a case filed against her by the panchayat, which even appealed to the information commission to declare her a public nuisance.
R. Rabiyath, former officer of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), who filed a scathing report to the Kerala High Court two years ago after a six-month-long total station survey with the help of various departments, too got transferred after that. As many as 35 quarries, seven crusher units, and one M-sand manufacturing plant in Mukkunnimala were found to be operating illegally and encroaching on a vast stretch of land. The Air Force Radar Station, a sensitive defence installation, too faces danger from the quarrying in adjacent plots.
Survey
“We did a survey of the entire Mukkunnimala area, measuring the land occupied by the 60 quarries. When this was compared to the old contour sketches, an accurate picture of the encroachment and exploitation of forestland was revealed. The total losses to the exchequer is estimated to be around ₹300 crore. Though there was an attempt to transfer me before the submission of the report, my term got extended by one month after the Mukkunnimala residents met the Chief Minister. With the report submission, we were able to provide a strong foundation for the case, based on which the HC asked the VACB to investigate further. But I got transferred soon after,” says Mr. Rabiyath.
Two years later, the VACB is still working through the mountains of revenue records. “We are currently collecting evidence.
A total of 170 counts of violations have been identified, for each of which we have to get the revenue records. Some old orders have been found to be forged to legitimise the illegal quarrying. We hope to press charges on at least few of these within three months,” says a senior officer.
Seventy-year-old Sreedharan Nair, a member of the samara samiti, remembers the state of the pristine hills decades ago, where they used to walk on calm evenings in his younger days. “It used to be thick forests, with a lot of animals and birds. In the valley below, there was widespread cultivation of paddy and tapioca. The hills were a source of fresh air and water,” he says.
The Mukkunnimala hills had remained untouched till early 1960s, when around 100 families of freedom fighters from Central Travancore, were given land here under the Land Assignment Act. They were allowed to construct houses and begin rubber cultivation in the 3.5 acres of land provided to each of them. But as per the rules, they were not allowed to use the land for any other purpose or sell it. The government was supposed to take back this land in such cases.
“Some of these settlers began small-scale quarrying, using hammers. Later, some of them sold their lands to the quarry mafia and left. In 1991, the first of the mechanised quarries made their appearance here. Later, all the major companies began exploiting resources here, by taking over much of the forestland, which is part of the ecologically sensitive Agasthyarkoodam range. At least 150 acres of government land have been encroached upon,” says K. Surendrakumar, joint convenor of the samara samiti.
The samiti, through a gritty protest, has had some successes — from the institution of a vigilance enquiry to the District Collector’s order to stop the plying of trucks laden with rocks through Pallichal.
Though political parties have approached the samara samiti to patronise the protests, the forum has by and far remained independent and hopes its efforts will yield better fruits. But how much of the hills would remain by then is the question.