An all-party meeting chaired by Agriculture Minister P. Prasad on Thursday decided to suspend soil extraction by levelling a hillock at Mattappally in Palamel grama panchayat near Mavelikara.
The meeting entrusted District Collector John V. Samuel to visit the mining site and submit a detailed report to the government immediately. The mining activities will remain halted until the District Collector submits the report. Officials said that the Kerala High Court would be apprised of the developments at Mattappally.
Mr. Prasad said that the District Collector would look into the mining permit issued by the Department of Mining and Geology and whether standard operating procedures were followed at Mattappally. The meeting asked District Police Chief Chaitra Teresa John to investigate and submit a report into the allegations that people, including women, protesting against the mining had been roughed up by the police.
