In which ever angle that one looks at mining, we cannot justify removing of natural minerals from a land and not restoring the pristine land to its people. In the process of mining, the water table of the land gets polluted by the mineral mined. So the people of the land are deprived of their clean environment. Depriving the people of their environment cannot be compensated in any way. Thus mining stripes the land of its greenery, its lustre and its fertility by contaminating it. How long will the land take to recuperate? Can this be compensated for? How will biodiversity (flora and fauna) be restored? In mining industry, there are corporate pressures to push through approvals through unconventional channels. These are instances of failures of indecisive government and dysfunctional ministries. An exposure of an incongruous deal in the mining sector came to light yesterday when a PIL was filed against Pirna Mine of Sesa Goa (a mining firm) which had concealed information on Environment Impact Assessment Report in August 2009. Centre Empowered Committee (CEC) was formed to look into the issue. Environment ministry has now halted clearances because it was discovered that River Chaopra would get silted leading to floods(villages are located in its banks) . In his 5year tenure, a minister had allowed 169 clearances for mining in Goa. This was a record high: a grant for 60 million tonnes of iron ore extraction annually. Goa’s assembly looked at violations and found that 25% of iron ore extracted were without clearances. The iron ores were sent abroad by Goa’s ports past the export clearances, also under unconventional procedures. To regulate and to check such large scale clearances Supreme Court formed a high powered committee National Environmental Protection agency(NEPA) It was to be the technical arm of the ministry, while restructuring the committee, two years had passed. In 2007, planning commission made National Environment Clearance Authority. In 2009 after passing of Environment Protection Act (EPA), under new minister Ministry of Environment and forests (MOEF) proposed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and National Environment Monitoring Authority (NEMA) for regulatory and policy making roles. In 2010, National Environment Appraisal and Monitoring Authority (NEAMA) was proposed to replace NEPA, the decision making role was influenced severely by political considerations (depends on which minister was in power), and then there was a tussle for power of state governments over central government in making committees. NEAMA was not be concerned with approvals but only for monitoring and for appraisals. These decisions were made to fast-track approvals, but on the long run, they elongated the process of settlement of successive issues which arose. Now NEAMA arouse out of problem of inability of state level bureaucrats to cope with new challenges where there was a need for high level application of technical knowledge; appraisal has to be continuous—how the mining procedure is affecting the land; new appraisals challenged past approvals; a professional body was needed for inspection and enforcement. So that impact assessment had to be continuously made. A state-level impact assessment State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and State Environmental Appraisal Committee (SEIAAS) will provide technical inputs were instituted so that power of the central government is overcome. But an independent regulatory power has to be constituted; centre and the state have to work cooperatively in this. There are pending controversies like what power was involved in the clearance given to Jaitapur nuclear power unit; what led to withdrawal of forest clearance for bauxite mining in Orissa; will penalty given for limestone mining in Meghalaya restore the previous pristine environment. Thoughtless actions of corrupt ministers, slow pace of action of constituted committees, off record corporate remittances from unconventional channels add to the unscrupulous exploitation of the environment. New policies are made to increase coal productivity of the country. Forest Survey of India (FSI) will delineate ‘go’ and ‘no-go’ zones which will be from forests of India for coal mining. Now biodiversity zones have to be redefined and 'forest land' has to be separated from it. Forest areas will be reduced, and new definitions will be invented to justify corporate greed. What will be the future of clean environment when power conflict will be pursued by one ministry against another? Loss of clean environment is the cost of mining which is a great loss to the people.
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