Thiruvananthapuram: Fisher associations have opposed the Union govt’s move to grant mining rights, including in coastal waters, without the permission of state govts through an amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.N K Premachandran MP had earlier urged chief minister V D Satheesan to oppose the move, but the state govt is yet to make its stand clear. This has prompted fisher associations to step up their protest.Charles George, state president of Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi, affiliated to Trade Union Centre of India, said the associations would resist “any move to hand over black sand mining to corporate monopolies.”A bill linked to the proposal, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, was introduced in Parliament last Monday. “Centre seems determined to push ahead with its plan to amend the 1957 Act to further open the sector to private participation,” said George.“Centre is trying to appropriate the rights of the states and transfer them to private sector,” George said, adding that the state govt should clearly oppose the move.He also criticized the state govt for remaining silent on the Union Budget’s announcement of a dedicated mineral corridor in Kerala to tap the state’s black sand deposits. He urged the chief minister to state his position and called on all fisher associations to join the protest.George said the Shailesh Nayak Committee, constituted under the Centre’s Blue Economy policy, had recommended in 2020 that coastal and offshore waters be brought under greater central control and opened to private interests.According to the committee’s assessment cited by the associations, Kerala’s coastal waters contain 138 million tonnes of black sand, estimated to be worth $120 billion. The sand contains minerals including monazite, ilmenite, sillimanite, rutile, garnet, magnetite and zircon.
