Lok Sabha Question No. 1574 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-25
Subject: Environmental Clearance for Mines
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: CHANDU LAL SAHU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1574

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07. 2017

## Environmental Clearance for Mines

## 1574. SHRI CHANDU LAL SAHU:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) the  number  and  details  of  small  mines  that  do  not  have  adequate  environmental clearances in the country, State-wise especially in Chhattisgarh;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  action  in  this  regard  and  if  so,  the  details thereof during each of the last three years;
- (c) whether the Government has relaxed norms of environment clearances for the same and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the mechanism adopted by the Government to expedite the environmental clearance process; and
- (e) the details of the mines that have been shut down for violating rules set down by the ministry and causing grave harm to environment during the said period, State-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. HARSH VARDHAN):

- (a)&(b) As per the  Environment  Impact  Assessment  Notification,  2006,  as  amended  till date, all the mines irrespective of their size and nature of mineral viz. major and minor  operating  in  the  country  are  required  to  obtain  Environmental  Clearance (EC),  including  the  State  of  Chhattisgarh.  The  mines  operating  without  EC  are considered as a case of illegal mining and the State Governments are authorized under Section 23(C) of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, as amended  in  1999,  to make  rules for preventing illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals in their respective states.
- (c) The Government has decentralized the process of grant of EC to minor mineral leases with a view to expedite the appraisal of projects and promote sustainable mining vide notification dated 15.01.2016, and further delegated the authority of grant of EC to State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) at the State or Union territory level in respect of mine leases covered under clusters of area  more  than  or  equal  to  25  Hectares  with  individual  lease  size  less  than  50 Hectares. The District Environment Impact Assessment Authority (DEIAA) at the District level is delegated to grant EC in respect of individual mine lease of less than  5  Hectares  and  mine  leases  covered  under  clusters  of  area  (i)  up  to  5 Hectares, and (ii) more than 5 Hectares and less than or equal to 25 Hectares with individual lease size less than 5 Hectares.
- (d) The  processing  of  applications  for  seeking  Terms  of  Reference  (TORs)  and Environment Clearance (EC) has been made online to expedite the environmental clearance process, reduce delays and bring transparency.
- (e) The Ministry has identified 53 mining projects as violation cases under the ambit of notification S.O.804(E) dated 14.03.2017. The State-wise list is as below:

| State             |   Identified Mining Violation Projects |
|-------------------|----------------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    |                                      8 |
| Bihar             |                                      2 |
| Chhattisgarh      |                                      2 |
| Gujarat           |                                     13 |
| Himachal Pradesh  |                                      3 |
| Jammu and Kashmir |                                      1 |
| Jharkhand         |                                      2 |
| Karnataka         |                                      3 |
| Maharashtra       |                                      3 |
| Rajasthan         |                                      7 |
| Tamil Nadu        |                                      6 |
| Telangana         |                                      2 |
| Uttarakhand       |                                      1 |
| West Bengal       |                                      2 |
| Total             |                                     53 |

State  or  State  Pollution  Control  Board  are  required  to  take  action  against  the Project  under  the  provisions  of section  19  of  the  Environment  (Protection)  Act, 1986 and not to issue consent to operate or occupancy certificate till the project is granted the EC.

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