Mangaluru: Karnataka legislative assembly speaker UT Khader said that the long-standing issues related to laterite stone quarrying in the coastal districts were resolved. He told reporters here on Tuesday, that the state cabinet approved major simplifications in the rules and significantly reduced the royalty on laterite stone from Rs 280 per tonne to Rs 90. He said 25 permits were also issued to quarry laterite stone in Dakshina Kannada. Permits for the remaining 25 applications will also be issued at the earliest, he said.He said new rules were formulated based on a cabinet decision, and the same will be officially notified soon. Meanwhile, the department of mines and geology has already begun taking initiatives as per the cabinet’s directives.“The new rules were framed in consultation with all stakeholders, including people’s representatives from the region. Hence, all issues like the shortage of laterite stone and illegal quarrying will be solved. Meanwhile, the new rules will allow the legal trade of laterite stones transparently. The new rules and relaxations will be more beneficial for individuals constructing homes rather than commercial developers,” he said.In response to a query on BJP holding a protest, Khader said that they have the right to protest in a democracy. “They are well aware of the decisions taken by the cabinet. The govt solved the issue to ensure that laterite stones are made available at an affordable price. The govt may also fix prices for laterite stone in the future and also think of introducing an app to book the construction material, if required,” he added.On the sand shortage crisis, Khader said that though there is a huge demand for sand extracted from the CRZs, it requires clearance from the central govt to commence extraction. “Let people’s representatives push both state and central govts to resolve regulatory obstacles in sand extraction from CRZs,” he said.Khader said he and district minister Dinesh Gundu Rao directed the district administration to utilise the seized sand stock for public infrastructure projects.
