Kerala HC stays NGT order stipulating minimum distance between quarries and residential area

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday stayed an order from the National Green Tribunal which stipulated that quarries in the state must be at least 200 meters away from residential areas. According to the state government, this distance was 50 metres.

The NGT had issued the order while considering a petition by quarry owners, questioning this order. They alleged that the NGT had issued the order after hearing only the Environment Department and not their side.

On preliminary examination, the HC single bench realised that the NGT order did not hear all partied and stayed the order.

The Kerala government had decided the distance between quarries and residential areas as 50 meters. If this is increased to 200 meters, 95 percent of the quarries in Kerala would have shut down.