Lok Sabha Question No. 2437 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-18
Subject: Environmental Degradation due to Illegal Mining
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Harsimrat Kaur Badal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2437 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2023

## Environmental Degradation due to Illegal Mining

## 2437. SHRIMATI HARSIMRAT KAUR BADAL:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the ravaging of river basins by illegal mining mafia in the country specially in the State of Punjab;
- (b) whether the Government proposes any action against the erring State and State officials in this regard;
- (c) the details of illegal mining spots in the country where mining activities are carried and causing environmental degradation and hazards; and
- (d) the steps taken/to be taken by the Government to review and protect the illegal mining spots in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) to (d)  Section 23C of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation Act) Act (MMDR Act)  1957,  empowers  the State  Governments  to  frame rules  to  prevent  illegal  mining  and  the State Governments may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make such rules for preventing illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals and for the purposes connected therewith. Hence, control of illegal mining comes under the legislative and administrative purview of the State Governments.

The  Ministry  of  Environment  Forest  and  Climate  Change  (MoEF&CC)  has  issued  the Enforcement & Monitoring Guidelines  for Sand Mining in 2020, supplemental to Sustainable Sand  Management  Guidelines,  2016,  to  regulate  the  Sand  Mining  in  the  Country  from  its identification  to  its  final  end-use  by  the  consumers  and  the  general  public  and  to  control  the instance of illegal mining through IT-enabled services and latest technologies for surveillance of the  Sand  mining  at  each  step.  This  document  serves  as  a  guideline  for  collection  of  critical information including the water level and other environmental parameters for enforcement of the regulatory provision(s) and it also highlights the essential infrastructural requirements necessary for effective monitoring for Sustainable Sand Mining and to control illegal mining.

Further, MoEF & CC has taken several steps to ensure adherence to the environmental safeguards due to mining of minerals. These include, inter-alia, mandating the requirement  of prior  environmental  clearance  under  the  provisions  of  Environment  Impact  Assessment  (EIA) Notification, 2006, as amended from time to time. Baseline data generation forms a vital part of the Environment Impact Assessment studies for the projects scheduled in the EIA Notification 2006.  This  study  helps  in  evaluation  and  prediction  of  impacts  on  the  various  environmental attributes  in  the  study  /project  area  by  using  scientifically  developed  &  widely  accepted environmental  impact  methodology  which  covers  air  quality,  water,  noise,  land  environment, ecology, biodiversity and socio-economic parameters.

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