04-08-2025
Industries Minister demands withdrawal of Offshore Areas Atomic Minerals Rules 2025
Industries Minister has demanded that the Union government completely withdraw the Offshore Areas Atomic Minerals Rules 2025, which includes a provision to grant permission to the private sector to conduct mining and exploration of nuclear minerals in the country's offshore regions.
In a statement on Monday, he said that indiscriminate mining would destroy the marine ecosystem and adversely affect fish stocks and national security. said that the Union government is trying to unilaterally formulate rules without seeking Kerala's opinion or suggestions, even though the soil containing nuclear minerals is included in the coastal maritime area of the State. 'A situation has arisen where private entities designated by the Union government are also getting permission to mine nuclear minerals like Uranium and Thorium from the maritime area. The coastal areas of the States of Kerala, Orissa and Tamil Nadu are rich in beach sand minerals. Minerals such as Thorium for nuclear power generation are present here. The new rules will seriously affect Kerala. According to the rules, the power to grant mining permits lies with the Union government and its agencies. The States cannot interfere in this matter. This is a denial of the constitutional rights of the State. The rules will threaten public sector enterprises in the sector,' he said.
