Indiscriminate exploitation and development at the expense of sustainability is dangerous, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal has said. Inaugurating a seminar on offshore mining organised by the Kollam Press Club here on Monday, the Minister said that the Centre’s decision to auction offshore areas would adversely impact marine environment and the livelihood of fishers. “Offshore mining is a serious, globally relevant topic. In the first phase, 13 mineral blocks have been made available for auction that include construction sand blocks off the Kerala coast, lime mud blocks off the Gujarat coast and polymetallic nodules and crusts blocks off the Great Nicobar Islands.
In Kerala it also includes the Quilon Bank, which is the most productive among all fishing fields in the country,” he said. He added that the defining characteristic of the Quilon Bank, stretching from Varkala to Ambalapuzha, was the abundance of stocks. “While sand-mining will disrupt the fish habitat, the Centre is prioritising the interests of mining companies. The State government has informed the Union government of its concerns,” said the Minister.
Deeply concerned
Former MP T.J. Anjalose said that fishers and those in allied sectors were deeply concerned. He recalled the strong resistance that arose when P. Chidambaram was the Union Minister and granted permission for foreign trawlers to fish. The government had to ultimately backtrack in the face of protests. He also reminded that the Modi government had to withdraw the farm laws following strong opposition from farmers.
P.P. Chittaranjan, MLA, said that if mining continued in a way that destroyed the entire ecosystem of the sea, it would cause huge losses to the fishing sector. “Through privatisation, all the major sectors of the country are falling into the hands of corporates. Now, the sea is also going into their hands. The Union government, through the 2023 amendment, had committed a blatant violation of the Centre-State relations. The Union government has not been able to allay our concerns and they should conduct a detailed study,” he said.
Sans scientific studies
Former MP T.N. Prathapan said that the Union government was preparing to conduct offshore sand-mining without conducting scientific studies and environmental impact assessments. “In 2023, an amendment was introduced allowing both the private and public sectors to conduct deep-sea mining. It was a unilateral amendment and the powers of the States were removed,” he said.
Participating in the discussion, BJP State secretary S. Suresh said that the concerns and anxieties of the fishermen should be addressed. “There is no need to worry about the impact on the environment. Offshore sand-mining should be seen as part of the effort to make India a developed country when India celebrates its 100th Independence Day in 2047,” he said. Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi president Charles George and All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association president Peter Mathias spoke on the occasion.