"The ministry, vide letter dated December 6, 2017, has suggested the Ministry of Mines for carrying out a capping study for minerals like limestone," Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma said in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha recently.
He was asked whether the government has suggested limits on production of minerals such as limestone as there is encroachment into agricultural land for mining of such minerals.
He said that the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) while appraising the project for grant of environmental clearance, takes into consideration the impact on land use and land cover of the area and if required, restricts the mining activity to a limited area and to a limited production capacity.
Replying to another question, he said under the Environment Protection Act, the government has issued the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 1994 on January 27 that year.
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He said the terms and conditions of the notifications have been violated and a total number of 224 complaints have been received by his ministry in the last three years.
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