Thiruvananthapuram: The State government has decided to approach the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict permitting private parties and joint sector companies to mine mineral beach sands.
On Friday, Kerala High Court had dismissed the appeal filed by the state government challenging a single bench order permitting the private sector to undertake mineral sand mining in the state.
The verdict of the division bench had snowballed into a political controversy in the state with a slew of green activists and a section of political leaders, including KPCC president V.M Sudheeran, opposing the entry of private sector in mineral sand mining due to environmental hazards.
The bench comprising Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Mathew P. Joseph directed the state government to consider the 29 applications pending before it from the private sector and joint sector companies seeking permission for mineral sand mining.
The state government owned Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd and the central public sector Indian Rare Earths Ltd are the only companies now permitted to mine mineral sands.