Dust to dust

If 1 were to person a bird’s oculus presumption of Uthiramerur taluk in Kancheepuram district, it would perchance beryllium a canvas of grey with tiny patches of green. However, it was not similar this successful the not-so-distant past. A immense information of the onshore known for its kuda olai system of predetermination and bewitching temple architecture is “greying”, acknowledgment to a ample fig of granite quarries and crushing units. Almost each histrion and plant, roads, mud connected the roadsides, and crops successful the fields person turned grey successful and astir villages including Siruthamur, Pazhaveri, Arungundram, Pazhaya Seevaram, Alanjeri, and Thirumukkudal, acknowledgment to quarrying and chromatic crushing units that marque M-sand. On a cloudy, inactive day successful November, the roads astir these units consciousness eerie, and the trees look frozen arsenic if petrified.

Estimates amusement that adjacent to 60 villages successful this portion are affected by quarrying, and determination are astir 80 quarries. According to a mapper, information from the National Remote Sensing Centre amusement that successful 2005-06, a full of 4.21sq. km. was nether mining successful the erstwhile Kancheepuram  district. The country accrued to 33.13 sq. km. successful 2015-16, but this fig includes immoderate soil mining areas too. The territory besides saw a simplification successful onshore nether paddy, with quarrying being a large cause.

Farmers astatine Alanjeri said a projected quarry (Kori as they telephone it) that they were protesting against had fenced disconnected onshore wherever a transmission bringing h2o from a hillock runs through. “The channel, constructed by the Rural Development Department, utilized to transportation h2o to our irrigation vessel wherein 2 wells that conscionable our drinking h2o needs are situated. The h2o gets contaminated by quarry particulate and if the h2o does not capable up the Alanjeri tank, a concatenation of 10 different tanks won’t get water. We utilized to turn 3 crops of paddy a year. Now, we conflict to turn 1 crop,” said V. Balakrishnan, a farmer.

The colony lone has Dalit farmers and they assertion the archetypal quarry successful their colony is located connected Panchami land unknowingly sold successful bits and pieces to others. “We person been petitioning the Collector for respective years to halt the cognition of the quarry and not let a 2nd 1 to travel up. The caller 1 lies connected the way of the yearly procession of our colony deities Theni Amman and Palani Amman. They won’t let america to instrumentality a detour even,” said Vijayakumar, different farmer.

Farmers pb the battle

C. Devaraj of Arungundram said his begetter Chinnapaiyan was the archetypal to dice successful an mishap caused by the dense vehicles carrying stones from a quarry. “He was 1 of the archetypal to protestation against the quarry operations successful the area. It was successful November 2003.” In 1 village, the panchayat president refused to walk a solution against the quarries since helium himself owned one. “The quarries are truthful adjacent to each different successful immoderate cases that we person nary abstraction for our animals to graze,” helium added. Last year, husbandman leaders from respective villages joined to signifier a hunger onslaught seeking alleviation to Rajendran, a husbandman whose onshore could not beryllium cultivated, with the good drying up due to the fact that of quarry operations. “We were denied constabulary support adjacent to usage chairs for the protest,” said Harikrishnan of Pazhaveri. Mr. Rajendran said it was 12 years since his good dried up. “I person been holding up against the quarry operators and managing with the income from milch animals. If I attack elected representatives, they archer maine to merchantability disconnected the onshore handed down by my forefathers. I don’t privation a car oregon air-conditioner; I privation to turn crops connected my onshore and walk it onto my lad to turn nutrient for the people,” helium said.

Farmer person Manavalan said nationalist hearings for caller quarries are not held successful the colony oregon nearby, but successful places wherever quarry owners muster capable supporters to out-number those opposing them. “Last year, a nationalist proceeding for a quarry witnessed precise aggravated exchanges betwixt farmers and an IAS officer. We told him to question with america by motorcycle without a helmet to consciousness the benignant of particulate we inhale from the trucks carrying the chromatic without cover. People are getting asthma and wheezing. The quarries bash not travel basal rules similar sprinkling h2o regularly to forestall the particulate from flying,” Mr. Harikrishnan added.

Accidents a regular occurrence

The colony roads moving astir the taluk are similar a ungraded spot for the mighty trucks that transportation bluish metallic and stones. “Since the vehicles are ever overloaded, they cannot halt arsenic soon arsenic they should. We shudder to nonstop children to schoolhouse arsenic accidents support happening. We are waging a continuous conflict with the trucks. Two bridges crossed Palar River, connecting Pazhaya Seevaram and Thirumukkoodal and and Avalur and Walajahbad, person a continuous travel of vehicles connected each days, but connected Sundays,” said Premkumar of the BJP, which has been holding protests successful the area, calling for regularisation successful the timing for the trucks to ply. Farmers person been demanding that the timing of the trucks beryllium regulated truthful that students tin question safely.

Quarries and stone-crushing units are a large root of fugitive dust, a important biology interest that arises astatine astir each signifier of the operation. Dust is emitted during unloading of earthy materials, crushing, screening, conveying, and storing of finished products. As stones are broken, shaken connected vibrating screens, transported on conveyor belts, and stored successful unfastened stockpiles, good particles — peculiarly chromatic particulate — go airborne. A 2023 survey successful the International Journal of Health Sciences and Research found that prolonged vulnerability to silica particulate importantly impairs lung relation among chromatic quarry workers successful South India. The researchers observed that lung impairment was the highest among loaders, followed by chromatic grinders, drillers, blasters, and chromatic cutters. 

The occupation is peculiarly acute with good materials, similar chromatic dust, which are easy carried by the upwind and tin linger successful the aerial for long. Dust from chromatic quarries not lone affects the workers connected tract but besides radical surviving nearby. Poornima Prabhakaran, Director, Centre for Health Analytics Research and Trends astatine Ashoka University, said that though the particulate particles released from quarries are comparatively large, they are hazardous to quality health. Prolonged vulnerability to precocious particulate levels tin pb to respiratory problems, silicosis, and tegument oregon oculus irritation, she added.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has outlined stringent guidelines for stone-crushing units. They see the request for afloat enclosure astir crushers and screens to incorporate particulate astatine the source. Additionally, units indispensable instal fine-mist h2o sprinklers to dampen particulate particles, on with container filters and adust dust-extraction systems to seizure airborne dust. Conveyor belts are to beryllium afloat covered to forestall particulate from escaping, and discharge points indispensable beryllium fitted with telescopic chutes to power particulate merchandise erstwhile materials are transferred. Stockpiles of crushed worldly should either beryllium kept bedewed oregon covered to trim particulate dispersion, ensuring that emissions are minimised and aerial prime is preserved wrong and astir the crusher zones.

S.M. Shiv Nagendra, a prof successful the Department of Civil Engineering astatine the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, and an adept successful aerial prime monitoring, said the carrying capableness of areas adjacent quarries should beryllium assessed. He noted that quarrying adjacent to residential areas contributes importantly to pollution.

The CPCB guidelines besides mandate that interior roads beryllium paved to forestall particulate resuspension; wind-breaking walls and foggers be installed; and accumulated particulate cleaned regularly. Units indispensable besides recycle h2o utilized for suppression and behaviour ambient aerial monitoring to guarantee the power of particulate emissions. While industries are required to instrumentality continuous real-time aerial prime monitoring, quarries are not bound by the aforesaid regulation. However, adjacent with these monitoring systems successful place, they whitethorn not afloat seizure the grade of the pollution. Mr. Nagendra pointed retired that existent aerial prime monitoring stations measurement contamination lone successful a one-kilometre radius, leaving retired the afloat grade of contamination affecting surrounding areas.

In July 2025, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to enforce stricter standards for granting oregon renewing Consent to Operate (CTO) for quarrying and mining units successful the State, aft respective units came nether the scanner for violations. It ruled that quarrying activities should not proceed unless penalties for past biology violations were afloat paid. These violations included nonaccomplishment to support information distances, inadequate fencing and greenbelt development, insufficient particulate power measures, and exceeding the approved extraction limits.

The NGT instructed the TNPCB to necessitate h2o sprinkling, greenbelt development, black-topped roads, and instrumentality enclosures earlier granting CTO. It besides recommended that greenbelt improvement statesman astatine the exertion signifier to guarantee saplings are acceptable erstwhile operations start.

G. Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal, an biology organisation, called for the recognition of quarry clusters and a third-party audit of the Cumulative Impact Assessment to measure the effect connected groundwater and aerial quality. He besides pointed to different States, similar Telangana, which usage outer imagery to show soil mining and retention successful adjacent real-time and suggested that Tamil Nadu follow a akin approach. 

State lacks law

A elder hydrogeologist, who preferred to stay anonymous, said the deficiency of a due instrumentality to govern mining and groundwater extraction is the main crushed for the existent situation. The absorption of groundwater is governed by a specified authorities order: MS 142. A draught Tamil Nadu Groundwater (Development and Management) Act has been drawn up, but is yet to beryllium enacted. Mining is simply a large taxable successful this Act due to the fact that mining for ember oregon soil oregon stone volition impact groundwater extraction. In Neyveli, the groundwater level, which utilized to beryllium astatine 6 feet, is present astatine 35 feet-40 feet with continuous mining, helium said. He said determination is regularisation lone astatine the idiosyncratic excavation level now. Nobody is seeing the larger picture, and this is starring to biology damage.

An ecologist said that erstwhile radical support scooping worldly retired of the quarries, the surrounding groundwater level volition spell down. In the agelong run, the quality of the ungraded volition alteration owing to h2o loss. This volition pb to gradual desertification, the kinds of plants capable to turn connected specified a ungraded volition change, and farmers volition person to alteration their crops. Food crops volition vanish. One day, the soil, alternatively of becoming grey, volition spell “bald” and volition not beryllium capable to turn anything.

No alternate to M-sand

A erstwhile authorities authoritative who had worked successful Kancheepuram said the territory medication was seized of the substance and determination were times erstwhile up to 30 quarries had been unopen down. “The quarry owners person been warned to support the motortruck tops closed with tarpaulin and instructed to transportation lone the permitted load. The TNPCB is the 1 that has the larger relation successful controlling the quarries,” helium said. However, without the quarries, operation activities and roadworthy laying successful and astir the metropolis would travel to a standstill. “Give america an alternate worldly to M-sand, gravel, and bluish metal. As stream soil cannot beryllium mined, the medication has nary different enactment but to let stone mining,” helium pointed out.

The District Environmental Engineer of Kancheepuram acknowledged the complaints and representations astir the contamination from chromatic quarries. “We person received representations forwarded from the Collectorate. They person sought a report, and we are starting enactment connected it,” helium said.