Strict enforcement of regulations in mines alone can prevent environmental and human costs
Strict enforcement of regulations in mines alone can prevent environmental and human costs
Working in hazardous sites such as mines, where explosives and heavy machinery are deployed, is fraught with risk. But human casualties in accidents at such sites due to greed-motivated exploitation, violation of safety and operational norms and collusion with regulators involve an element of culpability. death of three workers At the privately owned Venkateswara Stone Crusher Unit at Adamithippanakulam in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, this bears a sad testimony. Here, on Saturday night, six laborers and their heavy vehicles were buried under the rubble in a boulder falling in a 300-feet deep stone quarry. According to the state director of mining and geology, the management was given a notice of closure last month and Instructions to suspend operations after violation, Nevertheless, the operation went on illegally until the night, which brought officials, politicians and rescuers to the site. Perhaps, a random inspection in the gap could have prevented the loss of life. Preliminary investigations suggest that the Crusher Unit, which has facilities to manufacture M-Sand and Blue Metal, had compromised the vehicle’s en-route safety. A crack in the mandatory 10 feet distance between the upper vehicular path and the immediate lower path is believed to have caused the falling stone to fall deeper into the quarry, adding to the tragedy.
The Revenue Secretary has announced a comprehensive safety audit exercise in all stone quarries. Given that a political nexus, mine operation and the grant of licenses are inseparable, such action has rarely been effective. The plundering of natural resources, including the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats due to excessive blasting and mining, is well documented by committees appointed by the government or courts. For example, former IAS officer U.K. Sagayam had estimated a loss of Rs 16,000 crore to the exchequer due to illegal granite mining in the Madurai region alone. There has also been an influx of mines without licenses. Last year itself, the High Court had ordered the closure of 64 unlicensed stone quarries in Tiruppur district based on the findings of an advocate-commissioner. Revenue loss aside, it is impossible to fix a cost for the resulting irreparable damage to the environment and risk exposure to humans. Big sharks are mostly targeted when the ruling party has the ax to kill. To meet the huge demand from Kerala, the volume of excavation has now increased in the Tirunelveli-Kanyakumari region, where an estimated 80% of the excavated material is transported. It calls for imposition of restrictions on such inter-state transport of minerals. The immediate response to tragedies usually has a short life. Only a genuine administrative will to maintain the enforcement of regulations in the mines is the real result.