The State government has conveyed its strong reservations about the Union government’s plans for offshore sand mining along the Kerala coast.
The Centre is embarking on the project ignoring the State’s interests and the potential impact on the environment, according to the State government.
Principal Secretary (Industries) A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish conveyed the Kerala government’s stand on the matter at a roadshow organised by the Ministry of Mines in Kochi on the maiden e-auction of offshore mineral blocks, a statement issued by Industries Minister P. Rajeeve’s office said.
Private participation
An estimated 745 million tonnes of sand deposits are present in five sectors that are part of the Kerala coast. The Kerala government’s stand is that the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002, and the amendments to it made in 2023 fail to consider the interests of States. The royalty from the mineral mining flows solely to the Central government. The 2023 amendment also paves way for private participation in the mining. The State government had conveyed its stand on the shortcomings on the law on an earlier occasion.
That the law amendment fails to take into consideration the environmental impacts is its chief flaw, the State government said. Offshore mineral deposits and the fragile marine ecosystems are closely interlinked. The impacts of offshore mining on such ecosystems have not been studied in depth, according to the State.
Published – January 11, 2025 09:36 pm IST