Residents hoist black flags against new stone quarry near Ranipet

Villagers staging a protest with black flags against the stone quarry in the village.

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Villagers of six hamlets on Friday hoisted black flags at their houses in protest against the preliminary works to run a stone quarry in Mohanavaram village.

Residents of the village said that they were successful in restricting the operation of the private stone quarry on a hillock, located around a kilometre from the village, for over two decades. Since then, they have been keeping a vigil against any attempt to expand its operations to the village outskirts.

On November 22, the Collector chaired a public hearing, organised by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) in Thimiri, to ascertain the views of the affected residents.

“During the public hearing, we submitted petitions to Ranipet Collector J.U. Chandrakala against the quarry. However, the quarry owner has started to clear the acquired land for its formal operations a few days ago,” said D. Selvaganapathy, a farmer who led the protest.

About 44 acres of private land have been acquired for the quarry.

As per norms, TNPCB organises such public hearings only in cases where the proposed quarry is occupies over five hectares of land.

TNPCB officials said that the views of the residents were sent to the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) that decides on issuing licenses for the quarry. The license is renewed once every five years.

TNPCB officials said that the local village panchayat should provide water supply to the new quarry once it starts its operation. About 100 quarries, mostly stone quarries, operate in the district. Most of the quarries are located in Sholinghur, Arakkonam, Arcot, Thimiri and Kalavai that were well-connected with adjoining districts. Thimiri has had six stone quarries for many years.

Located off the Arcot-Arani Main Road near Thimiri, Mohanavaram village is a sprawling farming village with, on an average, 1,500 acres under cultivation. The village has around 1,200 families, who depend on farming for their livelihood. The village has only one government primary school and no health centres.They have to travel to Thimiri town for the same.