Crushing lives: On the need to enforce rules in quarries

Context: Death of three workers in an accident at a private stone quarry in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu has raised concerns regarding worker safety at hazardous sites.

In the present case, a falling boulder trapped six workers and their heavy vehicles under debris in a 300-feet deep stone quarry.

Were the norms being violated at the site?

The management, according to the State Director of Mining and Geology, was served a closure notice last month and instructed to suspend operations, after violations. Yet, the operations went on illegally.

The preliminary inquiry suggests the crusher unit, which has facilities for the manufacture of M-Sand and blue metal, had compromised safety along the vehicle path. The breach in the mandated 10 feet distance between the upper vehicle path and the immediate lower path is believed to have caused the falling boulder to plunge deeper into the quarry, aggravating the tragedy.

What steps have been taken by the govt?

A comprehensive safety audit exercise in all stone quarries has been ordered.

What are the issues involved?

There has been a plundering of natural resources in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats due to excessive blasting and mining. It has been well documented by committees, either appointed by the government or by the courts.

– For instance, former IAS officer U. Sagayam, as the Madras High Court-appointed Legal Commissioner, had estimated ₹16,000 crore loss to the exchequer due to illegal granite mining in the Madurai region alone.

There has been a mushrooming of unlicensed quarries too. Just last year the High Court had ordered the closure of 64 unlicensed stone quarries in Tiruppur district, based on the findings of an advocate-commissioner.

The revenue loss aside, it is impossible to fix a cost to the resultant irretrievable damage to the environment and risk exposure to humans.

Way forward

There is now an increase in the quarrying volume in the Tirunelveli-Kanniyakumari region to meet the huge demand from Kerala, where an estimated 80% of quarried materials is transported.

It calls for the enforcement of restrictions on such inter-State transport of minerals.

Immediate responses to tragedies usually have a short life. Only a genuine administrative will to sustain the enforcement of rules in quarries is of real consequence.

Source: This post is based on the article “Crushing lives: On the need to enforce rules in quarries” published in The Hindu on 20th May 22.