Udupi: Owners of tile factories oppose permit rules for clay transportation

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, March 7, 2025: About 2,000 families of labourers are facing insecurity as tile factories at Kundapur in Udupi district are facing the threat of closure due to permit rules imposed by the Department of Mines and Geology, say owners of factories.

The owners claim that regulations meant for major mineral mining and transportation are being applied for extraction of clay required for manufacturing Mangalore tiles. It has put owners into trouble.

According to Prakash T. Soans, president of Kundapur Tiles Factories’ Association, ‘koje mannu’ is sourced from private lands, with factory owners paying royalty to the government. However, its transportation has become difficult due to the government’s mandatory e-permit rules. The government’s server issues are resulting in delay in generating e-permits. The delay is disrupting the transportation of clay and production at factories.

He said that clay can be extracted only for about four to five months from January to May as fields remain waterlogged during the rest of months. Factory owners pay private landowners for the clay, but transportation is restricted despite paying royalty to the government.

He said that the government should not equate extraction of clay with extraction of sand and stone quarrying.

The owners are not sourcing the clay from government land, Mr. Soans said.

“It is the survival question of factories. Government should ensure uninterrupted production by relaxing rules pertaining to transportation permit,” he said.

Mr. Soans said that many tiles factories in the coastal belt have been closed down over the years due to dearth of clay and labourers.

If all 16 factories in Uttara Kannada are shut, the number of factories in Mangaluru has come down from 80 to four. Kundapur has only nine factories against 17 earlier, he said.

Mr. Soans said that the owners have submitted memoranda to the Ministers of Mines and Geology and Labour Welfare highlighting the issues over e-permits. They also met Udupi Deputy Commissioner K. Vidyakumari over the same on February 25.

According to the association, tiles production has a history of 156 years in the coastal belt as the first tiles factory in Mangaluru was opened in 1865.

H. Narasimha, Secretary of Udupi district Tiles Factories Labourers’ Union, at a press conference in Udupi on March 5 expressed solidarity with the owners.