At a time when the state government is drawing flak from environmentalists and the public for lifting the temporary ban imposed on quarrying, Communist veteran and former Chief Minister of Kerala VS Achuthanandan criticised the government. VS (as he is known as) has said that such ‘development’ is against the idea of building a new Kerala or ‘navakeralam’.
In his Facebook post published on Thursday, VS asked the state government to rein in officials granting permission for quarries in Kerala’s hills.
“Kerala has gone through floods a second time. Even now there are people lying buried in mud and are yet to be recovered. Experts have stated that it is not a coincidence to see check dams and quarries in the regions which witnessed landslides and mudslides. It is the small houses of people in the hills that were wiped away in the disaster because of the greed of such mafia. Such ‘development’ on top of hills is totally against the idea of building ‘navakeralam’," stated VS.
He also added that it is the responsibility of the state administration to uphold scientific vision and move forward. “The state government should be able to rein in officials who are granting permission for quarrying even at a time when the search is still on for finding people who have gone missing in the landslide,” he said.
“This is for the people of Kerala and for the Left’s vision of sustainable development,” said VS. He also added that the right to life and property of ordinary people is not something to be given away for the money of land mafia.
The temporary ban on all activities of the state’s 895 quarries, including moving of red earth was banned following Kerala’s northern districts witnessing disastrous landslides. But within nine days, the ban was lifted, allowing all quarries to resume their operation.
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