NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ordered notices to be sent to the Center and Kerala on the petition of local residents who alleged that illegal black sand mining is going on with the connivance of the government under the guise of avoiding water logging in Alappuzha Thottapalli. Environment Ministry, Central, and Kerala Coastal Management Authorities, State Irrigation Department, Alappuzha District Collector, Purakkad Gram Panchayat Secretary, KMML at Chavara, and IREL under Atomic Department should also respond.

In the petition, the local residents had demanded a stay of the High Court's order that did not interfere in the mining. But when the plea was considered, a stay was not requested. However, the bench headed by Justice V Ramasubramanian decided to seek the position of the opposing parties. S Suresh Kumar, A Anil Kumar, S Shyamghosh, and C Sanil, natives of Thottapalli, were the ones who approached the Supreme Court.

The High Court rejected the demand of local residents to stop the mining by clarifying that the removal of sand is done in accordance with the Disaster Management Act and does not interfere with the policy matters of the government. Senior advocate V Chitambaresh, appearing for KMML, told the Supreme Court that the sand was being moved to prevent flooding.