The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has recommended that all mining activities in areas found to be under illegal mining, except those areas falling in the sanctioned lease areas of the adjoining lessees, be prohibited for 10 years to ensure that such areas are properly rehabilitated.
In its report on the preparation of the reclamation and rehabilitation (R&R) plans for mining leases in districts of Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur in Karnataka, submitted before the Supreme Court on March 13, the CEC has made several recommendations. If accepted by the SC, these recommendations will go a long way in redefining how mining is to be done in the state.
The CEC has classified 166 mining leases in the state as Category A, B and C. Mines in Category A are those where illegal activities are absent or negligible. Category B mines are those which have certain level of illegal activities, and Category C are those that were found to have indulged in illegal mining activities in a big way.
It is said that resumption of mining will not be permitted until the lease-wise R&R plans are prepared and implemented. The report said Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) would prepare the lease-wise R&R plans, in consistent with the various principles/parameters dealt within these guidelines, and after considering the inputs provided by officials concerned of the state government and the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries.
The existing environmental clearances, approved mining plans, the consent to operate and other statutory approvals will stand modified to reflect the permissible annual production prescribed in the R&R plans for each of the mining leases, the CEC said.
Before permitting commencement of the mining operations, the monitoring committee, constituted by the SC, will ensure that the environment clearance, the approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the consent to operate and other applicable statutory clearances have been obtained by the lessee concerned.
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In Phase I, the R&R plan for the mining leases falling in Category A and having lease area of 50 hectares and above (about 20 leases) will be prepared. In Phase II, the R&R plan for the leases falling in Category B and having lease area of 50 hectares and above (about 29 leases) will be prepared. In Phase III, the balance leases falling in Category A and Category B will be dealt with (about 68 leases). The R&R plans for Category C will be prepared in Phase IV.
It is expected that Phase I and II of the preparation of the R&R plan may be completed within a period of two months, while the Phase III and IV may take another three months. In respect to mining leases falling in Category C, the process of assignment/allotment of the leases will be undertaken only after the R&R plan for the respective leases are prepared and the mining operations are found to be environmentally feasible/sustainable, either individually or after amalgamation of two or more leases, the CEC said in its report.
CEC also recommended that the lease-wise R&R plan will be implemented by the respective lessee at their own cost. However, if the area under encroachments falls in another lease, depending on the ground situation, the responsibility for the implementation of the R&R plan for the area under encroachment may be assigned to the lessee concerned but at the cost of the lessee responsible for the encroachment.