Lok Sabha Question No. 334 (STARRED), answered on 2016-08-09
Subject: Ecological Impact of Mining
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK  SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION No. 334

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2016

## Ecological Impact of Mining

## *334 . SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL

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

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  diversion  of  large  area  of  forest  land  for  nonforest  use  including  mining  purposes  has  resulted  in  ecological  imbalance  in  the country;
- (b)  if so, the details of forest land diverted for such purpose during the last three years and current year, State/UT-wise including Karnataka;
- (c)  the  extent  to  which  mining  activities  have  caused  ecological  imbalance  in  the  country; and
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to curb diversion of forest land for mining purposes and restore ecological balance?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT FOREST, AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ANIL MADHAV DAVE)

- (a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  THE  LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  334  ASKED  BY  SHRI  JANARDAN  SINGH SIGRIWAL 'ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF MINING' DUE FOR REPLY ON 09.08.2016.

- (a & b) No. The forest land diverted has not caused ecological imbalance. Since the enactment of  the  Forest  (Conservation)  Act,  1980.  the  forest  land  diverted  for  non-forest  use including mining purposes is on average approximately 25,000 Ha per year. The forest alnd diverted from October 1980 to date, State/UT-wise including Karnataka is given in Annexure -I
- (c & d) Non forestry activities including mining invariably have an impact on the environment and ecological balance. Deforestation for mining can inter alia lead to soil erosion, and water pollution, impact flora and fauna etc. However whenever forest clearances are given for use of forest land for non forestry purposes the same is done as stipulated under  the  Forest  (Conservation)  Act,  1980.  Under  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  the approval  of  the  Central  Government  for  diversion  of  forest  land  is  granted  to  the State/UT Government for various categories of projects. The project developers/user agencies whose proposals have been forwarded by the State Government and granted approval by the Central Government under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 belong to Central, State and Private sectors. The details of various categories of projects of these project developers for which diversion of forest land is accorded by the Central Government sought by the State Government is given in Annexure-II .

Mitigative  measures  in  the  form  of  general,  standard  and  specific  conditions  are mandated with every clearance granted.

General  conditions inter-alia include  raising  of  Compensatory  Afforestation  (CA), imposition of Net Present Value (NPV) to reduce the adverse impact of the diversion of  forest  land,  demarcation  of  boundary  of  the  diverted  forest  land,  minimum  tree felling, arrangement of alternate fuels, etc.

Standard conditions specific to  projects  viz.  hydel,  mining,  road,  irrigation,  thermal, transmission lines, etc.  as are also stipulated in the approvals granted for diversion of forest  land.  Standard  conditions  inter-alia  includes  phase  wise  mining  operations, management of safety zone, reclamation of quarry, conservation of topsoil, preparation and implementation of Catchment Area Treatment Plan, muck  disposal plan, maintenance of prescribed Right of Way (RoW). In addition to general and standard conditions,  specific  conditions  are  also  stipulated  in  the  approval  based  on  the recommendation made by the Forest Advisory Committee.

The  Government  has  taken  the  following  steps  to  curb  diversion  of  forest  land  for mining purposes and restore ecological balance. in the forest areas of the country:

1. Use  of  forest  land  for  non-forest  purposes,  including  mining  purposes  requires prior approval of Central Government under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. To  facilitate  scrutiny  of  the  proposals  seeking  prior  permission  of  the  Centre Government under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 in an effective, efficient and transparent manner an elaborate institutional mechanism, both at the Central as well as State/ Union Territory Governments level has been set up.
2. The  Central  Government having  due  regard  to  all  or  any  of  the  following matters accords approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for mining or reject the same:
3. (a) Whether the forest land proposed to be used for non-forest purpose forms part of  a  nature  reserve,  national  park,  wildlife  sanctuary,  biosphere  reserve  or forms part of the habitat of any endangered or  threatened species of flora and fauna or of an area lying in severely eroded catchment;
4. (b) Whether the State Government or the other authority has certified that it has considered  all other alternatives and  that no  other alternatives in the circumstances are feasible and that the required area is the minimum needed for the purpose; and
5. (c) Whether the State Government or the other authority undertakes to provide at its  cost  for  the  acquisition  of  land  of  an  equivalent  area  and  afforestation thereof.
3. Central  Government  while  according  approval  under  the  Forest  (Conservation) Act,  1980  stipulates  appropriate  mitigative  measures,  such  as,  creation  and maintenance of compensatory afforestation, realization of Net Present Value of the diverted  forest  land,  implementation  of  wildlife  conservation  plan  (wherever required),  phased  reclamation  of  mined  out  area,  demarcation  of    boundary  of mining lease etc. A copy of the approval accorded by the Central Government is uploaded on website of the Ministry to place it in public domain.
4. In case a proposal involves diversion of forest land located within a protected area notified in accordance with the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, approval of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and  Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  is  required  to  be  obtained  by  the  concerned  user agency  before  grant  of  approval  under  the  Forest  (Conservation)  Act,  1980. Similarly, in case the forestland proposed for diversion is located within the duly notified eco-sensitive zone around boundary of a protected area, EIA of the project needs  to  be  placed  before  the  Standing  Committee  of  NBWL.  In  case  Ecosensitive zone has not been notified, 10 km distance from the boundary of such protected area shall be treated as eco-sensitive zone. The Standing Committee of NBWL stipulates  additional  safeguard  to  minimize  impacts  of  such  projects  on wildlife.
5. Adequate safeguards are already in place to ensure that approvals under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for diversion of forest land for mining are accorded only after ascertaining that the area of forest land to be diverted is bare minimum and its diversion for non-forest purpose/Mining is unavoidable.

Further  in  addition  to  the  above,  the  regular  monitoring  of  the  forest  areas,  after approval  by  the  Central  Government  under  the  Forest  (Conservation)  Act,  1980  for carrying out mining activities, is conducted by the State Governments and concerned Regional  Office  of  the  Ministry  to  ensure  that  no  violations  occur  and  conditions mandated  in  the  approval  are  complied  with.  Besides  this,  user  agencies  are  also required to submit the annual self-compliance of conditions stipulated in the approvals accorded by the Central Government. The compensatory afforestation works are also monitored through regular inspections, quarterly progress reports, third party monitoring and e-green watch programme launched under the supervision of the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun.

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ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN THE STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (a & b) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 334 ASKED BY SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL 'ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF MINING' DUE FOR REPLY ON 09.08.2016.

## STATE WISE DETAILS OF THE EXTENT OF FOREST LAND FINALLY DIVERTED FOR NON-FOREST PURPOSE UNDER FOREST (CONSERVATION) ACT, 1980

| Category : All Categories   | Category : All Categories   | During the Period : October 1980 to July 2016   | During the Period : October 1980 to July 2016   |
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| No.                         | State/Union Territory       | No. of Cases                                    | Total Land Diverted (Ha.)                       |
| 1                           | Andaman and Nicobar         | 91                                              | 2435.73                                         |
| 2                           | Andhra Pradesh              | 345                                             | 24891.78                                        |
| 3                           | Arunachal Pradesh           | 192                                             | 32167.21                                        |
| 4                           | Assam                       | 240                                             | 2956.47                                         |
| 5                           | Bihar                       | 147                                             | 5526.96                                         |
| 6                           | Chandigarh                  | 31                                              | 89.36                                           |
| 7                           | Chhattisgarh                | 422                                             | 84475.02                                        |
| 8                           | Dadar &Nagar Haveli         | 149                                             | 275.03                                          |
| 9                           | Daman and Diu               | 1                                               | 3.95                                            |
| 10                          | Delhi                       | 15                                              | 42.21                                           |
| 11                          | Goa                         | 81                                              | 2022.85                                         |
| 12                          | Gujarat                     | 1306                                            | 63964.41                                        |
| 13                          | Haryana                     | 2698                                            | 5933.85                                         |
| 14                          | Himachal Pradesh            | 1416                                            | 12675.87                                        |
| 15                          | Jammu and Kashmir           | 7                                               | 656.45                                          |
| 16                          | Jharkhand                   | 320                                             | 21791.57                                        |
| 17                          | Karnataka                   | 683                                             | 43273.79                                        |
| 18                          | Kerala                      | 224                                             | 40747.34                                        |
| 19                          | Lakshadweep                 | 0                                               | 0.00                                            |
| 20                          | Madhya Pradesh              | 996                                             | 245978.53                                       |
| 21                          | Maharashtra                 | 1394                                            | 60001.21                                        |
| 22                          | Manipur                     | 34                                              | 3015.07                                         |
| 23                          | Meghalaya                   | 96                                              | 767.95                                          |
| 24                          | Mizoram                     | 23                                              | 6237.24                                         |
| 25                          | Nagaland                    | 0                                               | 0.00                                            |

| 26         | Orissa        |   478 |   48535.22 |
|------------|---------------|-------|------------|
| 27         | Pondicherry   |     1 |       0.96 |
| 28         | Punjab        |  3390 |   63371.7  |
| 29         | Rajasthan     |   652 |   25674.9  |
| 30         | Sikkim        |   350 |    2628.59 |
| 31         | Tamil Nadu    |   437 |    2421.87 |
| 32         | Telangana     |   226 |   22299.1  |
| 33         | Tripura       |   296 |    7832.6  |
| 34         | Uttar Pradesh |   871 |   19029.3  |
| 35         | Uttarakhand   |  4166 |   41662.3  |
| 36         | West Bengal   |   107 |    4311.92 |
| Total (Ha) | Total (Ha)    | 21885 |  897698    |

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ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN THE STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (c & d) OF THE LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  334  ASKED  BY  SHRI  JANARDAN  SINGH SIGRIWAL 'ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF MINING' DUE FOR REPLY ON 09.08.2016.

## CATEGORY WISE DETAILS OF THE EXTENT OF FOREST LAND FINALLY DIVERTED FOR NON-FOREST PURPOSE UNDER FOREST (CONSERVATION) ACT, 1980

| During the Period : October 1980 to July 2016   | During the Period : October 1980 to July 2016   | During the Period : October 1980 to July 2016   | During the Period : October 1980 to July 2016   |
|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| No.                                             | Category Of Projects                            | No. Of Cases                                    | Total Land Diverted (Ha.)                       |
| 1                                               | Borehole Prospecting                            | 4                                               | 50.99                                           |
| 2                                               | Defence                                         | 235                                             | 43492.19                                        |
| 3                                               | Dispensary/Hospital                             | 43                                              | 156.00                                          |
| 4                                               | Disputed Settlement Claims                      | 0                                               | 0.00                                            |
| 5                                               | Drinking Water                                  | 1468                                            | 1214.04                                         |
| 6                                               | Encroachments                                   | 56                                              | 259583.95                                       |
| 7                                               | Forest Village Conversion                       | 8                                               | 5040.15                                         |
| 8                                               | Hydel                                           | 425                                             | 86620.04                                        |
| 9                                               | Industry                                        | 37                                              | 83.29                                           |
| 10                                              | Irrigation                                      | 1886                                            | 106509.27                                       |
| 11                                              | Mining                                          | 1550                                            | 132464.87                                       |
| 12                                              | Quarrying                                       | 1                                               | 0.17                                            |
| 13                                              | Railway                                         | 273                                             | 8740.71                                         |
| 14                                              | Rehabilitation                                  | 46                                              | 17415.60                                        |
| 15                                              | Road                                            | 5524                                            | 43590.95                                        |
| 16                                              | School                                          | 131                                             | 2534.17                                         |
| 17                                              | Thermal                                         | 54                                              | 7554.45                                         |
| 18                                              | Transmission Line                               | 2270                                            | 38731.38                                        |
| 19                                              | Village Electricity                             | 49                                              | 177.82                                          |
| 20                                              | Wind Power                                      | 63                                              | 3630.98                                         |
| 21                                              | Others*                                         | 7762                                            | 140107.37                                       |
| Total (Ha)                                      | Total (Ha)                                      | 21885                                           | 897698.40                                       |

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