State owned mining firm Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) is in the soup for carrying out mining activities at Bangur chromite mines under Keonjhar forest division without environment clearance.
Both the divisional forest officer of Keonjhar wildlife division and the district mining officer have held that the mining operation of OMC at Bangur chromite mines is illegal for want of environmental clearance of Government of India.
Responding to this allegation, Saswat Mishra, managing director, OMC has clarified that as per the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification-1994 and EIA notification of 2006 along with the a number of clarifications and circulars issued by the Union ministry of environment & forests (MoEF), the current mining operation of Bangur chromite mines does not require environment clearance.
He has held that neither the production nor the lease area has been expanded post 1994 notification, thereby obviating environment clearance.
However, A K Rath, additional secretary (steel & mines) has sought clarification in this regard from the state secretary (forest & environment) on whether the mining at Bangur chromite deposit has to be categorized as illegal mining or not in the light of a recommendation made by the Central empowered committee (CEC).
According to Para 15 (b) of the report of CEC, even Rule 24 A (6) of Mineral Concession Rules-1960 do not authorize the lessee to operate a mine without statutory clearances and approvals.
“Therefore in respect of a mine covered under the 'deemed extension' clause, the mining operations should be permitted to be undertaken in the non-forest area of the mining lease area only if it has the requisite environment clearance and it has the consent to operate from the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB)”, adds the report.
Besides the above conditions, the mining plan of the lessee has to be duly approved by the competent authority and net present value (NPV) for the entire forest falling within the mining lease deposited in the compensatory afforestation fund for carrying out mining.
