Govt closes down illegal quarries

Responding to a question from Opposition Senator Cindy Sharma, Enill said his ministry and the National Security Ministry established a plan to “monitor and terminate illegal quarrying activities on an ongoing basis.”

He explained that this plan includes routine monitoring by the Energy Ministry and the use of Global Positioning Satellite technology to create maps to identify illegal quarries on a quarterly basis. The minister added that lists of illegal quarry operators are also sent to the security forces “on a quarterly basis for enforcement action.”

Enill said in addition to measures currently in train to stop illegal quarrying, he proposed to “amend the laws to allow for the permanent seizure of equipment associated with illegal quarrying.” He added that the reclamation and rehabilitation of illegally quarried lands involved the optimal recovery of quarried materials and restoration of the sites by “bonafide quarry operators.”

While he indicated that none of the areas which have been illegally quarried have been reclaimed to date, the minister said the critical areas which were most affected by these activities were surveyed and “will be allocated for quarrying through the competitive bidding process in the near future.” Enill identified 199 acres of land in Valencia and 264 acres in the Matura West Forest as two of these areas. He also said 20 acres of land in another part of Valencia were allocated to a bonafide quarry operator “to deter the rampant level of illegal quarrying in that area.”

Stating that 170 acres in Tapana-Valencia have been identified for sand and gravel quarrying, Enill said all of these measures are being taken because Government is aware that domestic demand for construction aggregate continues to “escalate to unprecedented proportions” and this need must be balanced with the need “to deter illegal quarrying activities.”