Quarrying under scrutiny
March 2002: Rock quarrying and stone crushing is a global phenomenon, and has been the cause of concern everywhere, including in countries like Singapore, Lebanon, United States, Pakistan and Israel. In Andhra Pradesh, there are an estimated 1400 quarries, which cater to the needs of railways, road construction and maintenance, housing and infrastructure building. Rock quarrying around Hyderabad has seen tremendous growth in the last decade or so. This is mainly because of the growing urbanization, enormous demand for housing, and the abundant availability of rocky hills in the surroundings. Rock quarrying has enormous impact on the environment, people and ecology. Not surprisingly, the problems that arise relate to the use of explosive materials, other occupational hazards as well as noise and dust pollution.
In this regard, CRE felt that there is a need to establish the baseline conditions in which this industry is operating, document its magnitude, assess future growth and demand, and build a scenario for alternatives, if need be. Presently, due to lack of authentic information at all levels policy development has become stunted. Even the government does not have information. In order to encourage the development of a policy, it becomes important to build an information database, which can help in analyzing meaningful solutions to the existing problems. Also, widespread awareness and education is required to enable rock-mining operations to be environment-friendly. With this in mind, the Center for Resource Development undertook a study of the industry and came out with several conclusions and recommendations. These conclusions were discussed with various stakeholders, including quarry representatives, by organising two workshops in March and September, 2001. The Final Report included discussions and suggestiosn from these workshops. The study was supported by Environment Fund for NGOs, New Delhi. The Study The assessment covered 111 units, under the administrative boundaries of 26 villages and eight revenue mandals. Out of the 111 units, nine are closed down - one due to a blasting accident (pending court case), one became bankrupt, four units yielded bad quality rock (powdery), one was closed down due to Hitech city, two units on the periphery of Hitech city cannot blast the stone and have to use the existing material and eventually close down. In the 1980s, all the stone crushing units were within the Hyderabad municipal limits (an area of 175 sq. km). Urban growth pushed them out to the peripheries. Present Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) area is about 2000 sq. km. Stone crushing units are located partly in HUDA area and partly outside. These units have a total mining area of about 1223 acres, out of which only 295 acres is the leased land, while the rest is owned by the respective units. Of the 111 units, 73 were established between 1990 and 2000, roughly in line with the growth of Hyderabad, indicating the growing dependency of construction on stones. In about 75 units, 192 blastings per week are done. Regulators and locals say it is twice that. About 1700 tipper-loads of stone material is produced by these units, adding to a volume of 9,645 cu.m per day. Total labor employed directly adds upto 4,370, including males and females. The male-female ratio is 1:4. No child labour was observed or reported, though the children of the adult labour are seen on the site. Regular and assured labour welfare facilities were not apparent. Electricity consumption totals 10,771 horse power, a capacity for 2 power substations of 32 kV each. Electric supply is erratic, making the units depend on diesel generators. Water supply is based on borewells. There is dust pollution in all the units, and no protection for the environment, labour and people alike from this pollution. No measures for dust collection and suppression have been reported. Ambient air quality is laden with suspended dust particles up to a distance of 200 metres. Transport systems like conveyor belts and lorries convey dust to farther areas. Two thirds of the labour is afflicted by cough. More detailed health impact studies are required to establish the incidence of chronic diseases. Adverse impact on water courses, soil, hills and slopes could be seen clearly, though more scientific studies need to be done to establish this fact. Noise levels are very high, ranging between 58 dB to 88 dB. Frequent blasting is causing noise problems as well as vibrations resulting in damages to the houses and other structures nearby. CRE Recommendations: Remedies and Solutions in brief
D. Narasimha Reddy |