Judgement of the High Court of Kerala in the matter of Elko Properties And Developers Private Limited Vs The District Geologist, Department of Mining And Geology, Thrissur District & Others dated 04/04/2018 regarding refusal on the part of Department of Mining and Geology to accept the application of the Elko Properties for issuance of transit passes, so as to extract ordinary earth for building purposes citing the necessity of an environmental clearance certificate.

Kerala High Court directs the Department of Mining and Geology not to insist on any environmental clearance certificate and states that Rule 14(2) of the of the Kerala Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2015 provides that no quarrying permit is required for extraction of ordinary earth in connection with the construction of residential buildings including flats or commercial buildings having a plinth area of 300M2 , if the owner of the land has obtained a valid permit for construction of the building from the Local Self Government Authorities concerned.