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State authorities verify illegal stone extraction pits in Riviera Maya

Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Citizen complaints lead authorities to perform flyovers of the northern region of the state to verify the illegal extraction of stone. Miguel Ángel Nadal Novelo, the Attorney for Environmental Protection (PPA) in Quintana Roo said that several have been found.

He said that in the northern region in particular, several areas of heavy machinery were found illegally extracting stone for the Maya Train project.

The attorney for the Procurador de Protección al Ambiente (PPA) explained that with the Maya Train project in the area, the Ejidos are looking for a way to monopolize economic income, which has involved the illegal extraction of stone material on their lands but without the corresponding permits for exploitation.

“We have received some complaints that we are addressing. Every week we have been carrying out flights in the area of the Maya Train, especially in Tulum and Playa del Carmen where we have already begun administrative processes by detecting hectares of land that are being used as clandestine stone material banks,” he said.

Nadal Novelo said that five or six illegal extraction sites have been found from Tulum to Cancun, all of which, are operating clandestinely.

“This situation is more recurrent in the northern zone. That is where it has been confirmed that they operate clandestinely. In the south it is different,” he said.

“The ejidatarios always prepare in advance and are the ones who process all the permits they need for the exploitation of the properties of stone material. Although the surveillance is throughout the state, we focus mainly on the north which is where we have found a greater reluctance to regularize,” he added.

He anticipates their immediate closure and fines of up to 700,000 peso.