Pollution Control board recommends closure of 182 illegal brick kilns in the Thadagam valley; RTI reveals
Coimbatore: An RTI regarding brick kilns operating at Thadagam, filed by Social Activist Ganesh, has revealed that Coimbatore North Pollution Control Board has recommended closure of 182 illegally-operated kilns. Following this, social activists have urged for action by the Pollution Control Board for the closure of these brick kilns.
It is alleged that many of the brick kilns in the Thadagam area operate without any authorized approval. Many social activists have lodged multiple complaints with the District Administration on those grounds. Video evidence of red soil theft in Chinnathadagam, Pannimadai, Nanjundapuram, Veerapandi, Somayampalayam and lot of other areas have been aired many times too. Many concerned citizens have opined agricultural lands, poramboke lands and even water bodies have not been spared by these soil thieves.
Social Activist Ganesh said, "as per the Mineral law, no more than three feet of soil can be dug in any kind of land including government lands and private lands. Further, the law states that heavy motor machinery should not be used, neighbouring lands should not be damaged and proper spacing must be provided for soil extraction. Also soil can be extracted only during certain seasons, not all through the year; however, these rules have been blatantly flouted."
He said people from the area have been complaining that many large lands have become huge gorges, which has disrupted the ground water level leading to decline in agriculture. Use of banned pollutants also has caused a great deal of damage to humans and wildlife.
It has also come to light that the District Forest Officer has written to the Coimbatore District Collector regarding this and has said, "most of the brick kilns have not obtained proper permission from the Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board. Appropriate action must be taken against those along with disciplining of excavating contractors who dig out more sand than the approved limits."
Ganesh further said, "from an RTI query, it has come to our knowledge that the Coimbatore North Pollution Control Board has recommended to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to initiate action against the illegally-operated brick kilns in the Thadagam area and close down 182 of them.
"Further, it was recommended to close them down between the time period of February 18 and March 6 of this. Even though action has been recommended on 182 of the 192 brick kilns, nothing has happened so far and they continue to operate. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown, the Coimbatore North Pollution Control Board has inspected the areas and has recommended the closure of the brick kilns, but the State Pollution Control board has not taken any action", he complained.
He also added, "from March 24 to May 4, the brick kilns stopped operations due to the lockdown which resulted in clean air and a human-friendly environment. However, since May 5, the easing of the lockdown norms have led to reopening of the kilns and movement of lorries and huge excavators in the area."