Kalpetta: The two orders issued by the former Wayanad district collector Kesavendra Kumar on the eve of his exit on Monday banning the use and sale of plastic carry bags, plastic and thermocol bottles and plates, and also quarrying and operating of granite crusher units in the premises of three ecologically fragile zones, came as a shocker to the mining lobby as well as traders in plastic and thermocol products.
Till the last moment he kept everyone in the dark about the order, said an official. “The issues were discussed in the last meeting of the District Disaster Management Authority and a decision was taken on both issues. But nobody thought that it would be executed so soon”, he said, adding that the collector might have chosen the last moment to announce the two orders to evade pressure from the powerful mining lobby.
It is to be recalled that the orders came to light in a press statement distributed on Tuesday. Quarrying in the 200 metre radius of Phantom Rock, Kolagappara Rock and Aarattupara Rock, all three tourism spots in the Sulthan Bathery taluk in Wayanad, is risky as any damage to the rocks would affect the tourism potential of the district as well as it would cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem.
However, environmental organizations are upbeat over the last minute orders of the Collector. Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithy president N Badusha told DC that the collector did what the Greens had been demanding for the last three decades. We hope the new collector would extend the order to all quarries functioning in mountain slopes of the district”, he added. Mr Badusha also said that the Greens of Wayanad would oppose any move to scuttle the order.
