Coimbatore: Making the case stronger against the reported illegal Brick Kiln chambers and soil mining in the Thadagam Valley, the District Rural Development Committee (DRDC) has claimed that neither the brick kiln owners approached for approval, nor have the DRDC offered any approvals.
Coimbatore: Making the case stronger against the reported illegal Brick Kiln chambers and soil mining in the Thadagam Valley, the District Rural Development Committee (DRDC) has claimed that neither the brick kiln owners approached for approval, nor have the DRDC offered any approvals.
In reply to an RTI filed by S. Ganesh from the Thadagam, DRDC has further stated that it has not provided any approval to set up chimneys upto 130 feet in the chambers.
According to Ganesh, the RTI was one of the many petitions filed by him and others fighting against the brick kiln industry, along with department related queries regarding the red soil mining and brick kilns in Thadagam.
Of the 13 queries raised by Ganesh in the RTI, DRDC has not answered two claiming that they did not have details regarding the actions initiated by the department against illegal construction of chambers. It has also not rendered any details regarding the spread area of constructions in sites under the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA).
However, it has mentioned that no approval has been given for brick kilns for the construction of chambers and for the digging up of red soil upto 120 feet in HACA area.
It has further stated that proper permission should be sought from the Urban Development Authority to set up brick kilns adding that permission should be sought from the Local Planning Authority for construction either residential or commercial buildings, in the five villages of Chinnathadagam, Somayampalayam, Nanjundapuram, Veerapandi and Pannimadai in the Periyanaickenpalayam Union.
Permissions should be from LPA to set up cement sheeted sheds spread upto 80,000 feet and for using electricity driven machines that consume upto 330 KVA.
While the DRDC’s response hits another nail in the coffin for the brick kiln industry, activists condemn other government departments for not answering their queries in time.
S. Ganesh alleged that departments including the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Mining and Geology, and the Road Transport Office, North Coimbatore, have not responded to even to one of the department related queries that are being asked for more than three months.
“The North Coimbatore Tahsildar Office and Agriculture department have also not replied to genuine RTI petitions that were filed many months back,” Ganesh said.
A petition has been filed with the District Collector K. Rajamani, seeking departmental actions against officials who do not respond to RTI queries.
In reply to an RTI filed by S. Ganesh from the Thadagam, DRDC has further stated that it has not provided any approval to set up chimneys upto 130 feet in the chambers.
According to Ganesh, the RTI was one of the many petitions filed by him and others fighting against the brick kiln industry, along with department related queries regarding the red soil mining and brick kilns in Thadagam.
Of the 13 queries raised by Ganesh in the RTI, DRDC has not answered two claiming that they did not have details regarding the actions initiated by the department against illegal construction of chambers. It has also not rendered any details regarding the spread area of constructions in sites under the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA).
However, it has mentioned that no approval has been given for brick kilns for the construction of chambers and for the digging up of red soil upto 120 feet in HACA area.
It has further stated that proper permission should be sought from the Urban Development Authority to set up brick kilns adding that permission should be sought from the Local Planning Authority for construction either residential or commercial buildings, in the five villages of Chinnathadagam, Somayampalayam, Nanjundapuram, Veerapandi and Pannimadai in the Periyanaickenpalayam Union.
Permissions should be from LPA to set up cement sheeted sheds spread upto 80,000 feet and for using electricity driven machines that consume upto 330 KVA.
While the DRDC’s response hits another nail in the coffin for the brick kiln industry, activists condemn other government departments for not answering their queries in time.
S. Ganesh alleged that departments including the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Mining and Geology, and the Road Transport Office, North Coimbatore, have not responded to even to one of the department related queries that are being asked for more than three months.
“The North Coimbatore Tahsildar Office and Agriculture department have also not replied to genuine RTI petitions that were filed many months back,” Ganesh said.
A petition has been filed with the District Collector K. Rajamani, seeking departmental actions against officials who do not respond to RTI queries.