ABRAHAM SKARIA, S/O. SKARIA, Vs. STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT OF KERALA, SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 695 001 AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a resident of Kayanad in ward No.13 of the 5th respondent Grama Panchayath. In the writ petition, the petitioner is aggrieved by the alleged illegal quarrying operation carried on by the 7th respondent. It is the case of the petitioner that, noticing that the quarrying activities carried on by the 7th respondent were carried out without any regard for the environment, he had approached the Munsiff Court, Muvattupuzha through O.S.No.355 of 2012, in which a judgment and decree came to be passed, injuncting the 7th respondent from carrying on quarrying operations without valid licenses and consents from the relevant statutory authorities or without complying with the provisions of the Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2015. It is the case of the petitioner in the writ petition that, despite Exts.P1 and P2 decree and judgment respectively, of the Munsiff Court, Muvattupuzha, the 7th respondent is continuing with the quarrying operations, without getting a prior environmental clearance as is contemplated under the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. The prayer in the writ petition is essentially for a direction to the respondents 2, 4 and 6 to exercise their powers, so as to the prevent the 7th respondent from carrying on the quarrying activities in his premises.

(2.) A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the 7th respondent. Therein he produces as Exts.R7(a) to R7(e), copies of the quarrying lease dated 22.02.2011 issued in his favour, which is valid up to 01.12.2020, D and O License issued by the Maradi Grama Panchayath to operate the quarry, Consent to operate issued by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, which is valid till 31.03.2016 and subsequently renewed to have a validity till 30.06.2018, and a copy of the Form LE-3 license, issued by the Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives, which is valid till 31.03.2018. The 7th respondent relies on the said documents to indicate that the quarrying operations, that are being carried on by him, are in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions and under the supervision of the applicable statutory authorities. As regards the requirement of a prior environmental clearance, it is pointed out that, by virtue of the decisions of this Court in All Kerala River Protection Council v. State of Kerala [2015 (2) KLT 78] and Nature Lovers Forum v. State of Kerala [2016 (1) KLT 75], since the quarrying lease in favour of the petitioner was issued on 22.02.2011, prior t 18.05.2012, the date of the Notification of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, pursuant to the judgment of the Supreme Court in Deepak Kumar v. State of Hariyana [(2012) 4 SCC 629] , the requirement of an environmental clearance would arise in his case only when the quarrying lease comes up for renewal on 02.12.2020. It is therefore stated that, as of today, the activities of the 7th respondent have been carried out in strict compliance with all the laws and regulations and the apprehensions of the petitioner in the writ petition are therefore wholly unfounded.

(3.) I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned counsel for the 7th respondent and the learned Government Pleader for the official respondents.