Protection of a giant hill is a major local body election issue in the CPM stronghold of Kottur gram panchayat in Kozhikode district.
All political parties seek votes vowing to save Chengottumala - a hill that stretches more than 10 kilometers - from the private mining company, Delta Rock Products.
What makes the contest intense is the presence of the Chengottumala Protection Committee candidate in the fray.
The committee has been organising people against the quarry project since 2018. It is contesting in Ward No. 4 (Chedikkulam), which will be the most affected area if the quarrying project gets permission.
The committee claims it does not trust mainstream political parties and they need to have a representative in the panchayat council to air people’s concerns. “That is why the committee decided to field me,” said Joby.
Kottur is 35kilometres northeast of the district headquarters of Kozhikode.
Chengottumala is a unique biodiversity hotspot. A major portion of the hill is in Kottur. It stretches to neighbouring Kayanna and Nochad gram panchayats. The hill lies just nine kilometres away from Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary. Around 500 Adivasis belonging to the Karimpala tribe live on its slopes.
Anti-quarry agitations
People’s movement to protect Chengottumala began in 2018.
The trigger for the committee formation was the environmental clearance given to Delta Rock Products - a mining company based in Pathanmthitta - to quarry granite from the hill by the Kozhikode District Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (DEIAA) in 2018.
The DIEAA has the authority to clear minor sand and stone mining projects in less than 25 hectares. It ignored objections raised by the panchayat council and State Forest Department against the mining project. The Kerala High Court deferred the approval indefinitely in the same year based on the petitions filed by the residents.
From turmeric producers to quarrying
Delta Rock Product landed in Chengottumala in 2016 masquerading as turmeric cultivators. It bought 110 acres of private land from individuals and organisations. It launched a large scale turmeric cultivation and offered jobs to the local residents. But no one knew about the company’s clandestine operations until it earned the environmental clearance.
People from the three affected panchayats formed an action council in 2019 to co-ordinate their anti-quarry agitation. The panchayat, headed by the CPM, too supported the movement.
The company did not back off despite the people’s movement. It used all its might to get the environmental clearance.
The action committee resorted to innovative protests. It stalled the functioning of the panchayat office and the post office for many days.
The protests brought the issue to the notice of the powers-that-be.
In June 2019, the Kozhikode district collector refused to issue a mandatory licence – Dangerous and Offensive Trade Licence (D&O) – required to mine a hill.
Protests slowed down in the wake of the collector’s decision.
But the mining company approached the Kerala State Single Window Clearance Board – a state government body that is entrusted to approve licences for enterprises quickly – in May, 2020. The board said Delta Rock Products can start mining after getting environmental clearance.
People felt cheated. They regrouped immediately and launched protests as they felt that the mining company would use all its resources to get the licence to tear Chengottumala apart.
They formed a human chain around the hill and marched at night reciting poems.
Into the poll fray
The outfit formed consultative committees in seven wards in the panchayat.
When the local election was declared, the committee in Ward No. 4 in Kottur decided to contest.
“This Ward will be the worst-affected if the company begins quarrying. Hence the ward-level action committee decided to field me in the election,” said Joby. Joby runs a gymnasium in Kottur and works as a part-time plumber and electrician. He has been in the forefront of the anti-mining agitations from the beginning.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) withdrew its candidate to support Joby.
Those who participate in the agitation believe that the mining company enjoys close links with leaders of all political parties.
Three politicians – two from CPM and one from Congress – were forced to resign their party positions in 2019 for allegedly receiving favours from the mining company.
The contest
Joby is up against CPM’s K P Aravindan and BJP’s Sreeraj.
The resignation of its functionaries had put the CPM on the backfoot, but it claims the credit for keeping the mining company away from Chengottumala.
“The CPM led the anti-quarry agitations along with the Chengottumala Protection Committee in 2019. The panchayat council headed by the party took a strong stand against mining. The mining company could not demolish Chengottumala only because CPM stood against it,” said CPM local committee secretary Shaju.
Shaju alleged that Chengottumala Protection Committee’s decision to contest the election only in one ward reeks of suspicion. “We doubt their intention is to support Delta Rocks. The mining company wants to split people’s votes. The contest will benefit only the mining company,” Shaju said.
CPM candidate K P Damodaran said Joby’s candidature does not pose him any challenge. “Ward No 4 is an LDF stronghold. I will definitely win,” he said.
CPM had faced a tough fight in this ward in the election five years ago. The party’s candidate Ramya registered a narrow 93-vote win over independent Smitha in 2015.
CPM-led Left Democratic Front won 14 seats to retain the panchayat in 2015, while the UDF could win in just five seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is not a major force to reckon with in Kottur. However, it has also fielded a candidate, promising to protect Chengottumala. “Vote for Chengottumala agitation hero Sreeraj,” read an NDA hoarding.
Joby said people want to save Chengottumala and they will definitely elect him. “This is a fight for our hill. We will definitely win,” he said.
