SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government has declared ten stone quarry belts in Pulwama as quarry clusters but none of the erstwhile quarry holders has secured the environmental clearances and consents required to obtain formal quarry licences, a reply placed before the Legislative Assembly shows. Three of the ten clusters were later withdrawn, and a high-level multi-departmental committee has been constituted to finalise modalities for the revival of customary quarrying activities.
The mining department told the Assembly that the 10 declared clusters cover localities including Lethpora, Ladhu, Mandakpal, Khrew and Wuyan in the Pampore constituency. The department issued an order withdrawing three clusters, and has repeatedly required applicants to submit approved mining plans, environmental clearance certificates and consent to operate documents from competent authorities before formal quarry licences can be granted.
The department said that, to date, no applicant from the declared clusters has been able to produce the environmental clearance, consent to operate or the required no objections from stakeholder departments. As a result, quarry holders remain unable to restore full operations and livelihoods tied to the sites.
As an interim measure, officials have issued disposal permits allowing quarry owners to lift loose, slid or weathered material from old sites for government works and to secure livelihood. The reply cited previous permissions granted to cluster holders — for example, Booh Awantipora quarry cluster holders in Pulwama were allowed to lift 34,650 metric tonnes of stone under earlier minutes and approvals.
To address the impasse, the government constituted a High-Level Multi-Departmental Committee under a government order. The committee has held multiple meetings with stakeholder departments and is expected to submit recommendations “in the shortest possible time”, the departmental reply stated. The draft report will be shared with concerned members of the Legislative Assembly before final submission to the government, the reply added.
The department also said it will consider permitting quarry holders to lift loose material until the committee completes its work and final recommendations are issued. Minutes of earlier meetings cited in the reply — issued Mar 16, 2021, and Jun 15, 2021 — set out prior directives allowing lifting and transportation of accumulated loose material for government works and livelihood support.
