The Kerala government is now facing allegations that that a recent order from Kerala state government has `legalised' many of sites where illegal quarrying was underway earlier.
The Times of India reports that the order -GO (Ms) 593 15RD -issued by Principal Secretary (Revenue) Viswas Mehta on November 11 is in clear violation of two major acts related to land assignment.
The GO allows the revenue department to give permission to quarries, which have obtained all necessary clearances, on land assigned on the basis of the Kerala Land Assignment Act, 1960 and rules in 1964 and the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971.
The GO was issued after meeting chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to discuss the problems at quarrying sector on September 8.
It has also been reported that the order allows resuming of all mining operations at all those quarries whose functioning has been stopped despite having the necessary clearances from the local panchayat, the pollution control board, the mining and geology department and the revenue department.