New Delhi: The Supreme Court has dismissed the petition against the alleged mineral sand mining in Thottappally following the state government's clarification that the activity is not mining, but soil removal to prevent flooding.

A bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai dismissed the case, which was filed against the alleged mining conducted by Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) and Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) in Pozhimukham, Thottappally.

State counsel claim mining was to ease water flow

State counsel argued that the soil removal was necessary to improve water flow. Senior advocate Pallav Sisodia and standing counsel C.K. Sasi, representing the state, told the court that the soil was being removed to maintain free flow in the spillway, and that the M.S. Swaminathan report had recommended this action.

Advocate Meena K. Paulose also represented the state in court. On the other hand, senior advocates Sanjay Upadhyay and Kuriakose Varghese, representing the petitioners, argued that the soil being removed was transported over 30 km for processing, which they claimed amounted to commercial-scale mineral sand mining.

The Supreme Court, however, questioned whether there was anything wrong with the state earning revenue by cleaning and selling the removed soil.

In addition to senior advocate V. Chidambaram, advocate A. Karthik also appeared on behalf of KMML. KMML had earlier claimed that the mining would help deal with floods in Kuttanad.