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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Jairam Ramesh okays mining proposals on fringes of Hasdeo-Arand forest

Jairam Ramesh okays mining proposals on fringes of Hasdeo-Arand forest

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published Published on Jun 24, 2011   modified Modified on Jun 24, 2011

-The Economic Times

 

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has approved two mining proposals - one by Iifco and the other by the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam - on the fringes of the Hasdeo-Arand forest region in Chhattisgarh. Ramesh set aside the recommendation of the statutory body of the environment ministry, the Forest Advisory Committee , to reject the proposals.

With Thursday's order, coal mining will be allowed in Tara, Parsa East and Kante Basin coal blocks that are located in the Hasdeo-Arand forest region, which has been classified as "no go" area for mining. These proposals have been under consideration of the Forest Advisory Committee, or FAC, for nearly 18 months. Initially, Ramesh had agreed with the FAC's advice not to allow mining in the region. "While the FAC has to do its due diligence with single-minded focus, as minister I have to keep the broader developmental picture in mind and balance out different objectives and considerations," Ramesh said in his order.

While the imperative to sustain the momentum of power-generation capacity added in the 11th Plan is an important consideration for Ramesh, the primary reason for allowing mining in these blocks is that these are "clearly" located in the fringe and "not in the biodiversity rich Hasdeo-Arand forest region (a no-go area)". Ramesh said these blocks appear "to be a totally different watershed" as these are separated by a well-defined high hilly ridge with drainage into Aten river, which flows towards Harirarpur in the opposite direction.

Ramesh has clarified that the approval should not be seen as the opening of floodgates for mining in the bio-diversity rich forest regions such as the Hasdeo-Arand. "As long as the mining is restricted to the fringe area and as long as the state government does not come up with fresh applications for opening up the main Hasdeo-Arand area, I am of the opinion that permission can be accorded for Tara, Parsa East and Kante Basin," the minister's order states.

Another factor that persuaded Ramesh to change his earlier position was the approach taken by Iifco. After the FAC first rejected the proposal to allow mining in Tara, Iifco reworked its plans for developing the mines. In June last year, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh wrote to Ramesh informing him that Iifco had, after considering the objections raised by the statutory body, "looked at the alternate ways of ensuring minimal felling of trees and excluding dense forest areas of more than 0.4 crown density and have prepared a revised mining project". Singh later conveyed the company's proactive willingness to rework the proposal, including reducing the amount of coal it could mine, to the prime minister.

Iffco's reworked proposal to deal with environmental concerns meant that medium density forest area was reduced from 2,000 hectares to 778 hectares, the number of trees that would be felled was brought down from 8.5 lakh to 1.2 lakh, the operation period of the mine was reduced from 45 years to 25 years, and coal that will be used at 1,320 MW supercritical power plant, located 7 km away at Surguja, will be evacuated only through overhead conveyor belts. Ramesh was of the view that "when the project proponent is prepared to demonstrate some flexibility to accommodate our concerns, I think, we should also reciprocate."

The Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam reworked its proposal to mine the Parsa East and Kante Basin in two phases. The first 15-year phase will cover an area of 762 hectares while the second phase, which is for another 15 years, will cover 1,136 hectares. Reclamation of mined out area will begin from the third year of operation, "thus making it possible to link renewal for phase II to performance on reforestation and biodiversity management for phase I".

This is one of the conditions for approval. Additionally, the FAC's assessment is that the forest quality in this area is poorer than that in Tara. Ramesh is of the view that concerns relating to wildlife "can and should be taken care of through a well-prepared and well-executed wildlife management plan and programme". This would be prepared under the aegis of wellknown institution like the Wildlife Institute of India and should draw on independent institutions dealing with elephant-related issues.

Both Iifco and Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam will provide the funds to prepare and implement this management plan. The plan has to be prepared over the next 4-6 months. Another reason for overturning the FAC's recommendation is the fact that these coal blocks will be linked to supercritical thermal power plants. "This is an explicit pre-condition for approval in order to remove any ambiguity on this score."

The use of supercritical technology results in reducing emissions from coalfired plants by as much as 5-8%. Ramesh has said that super critical technology is "absolutely essential" to deal with global-warming concerns. "Supercritical and ultra supercritical technology has to proliferate rapidly if we are to meet our growing energy needs in an environmentally acceptable manner," the order states.

Reworked Plans

- Ramesh says approval should not be seen as the opening of floodgates for mining in the bio-diversity rich forest regions such as the Hasdeo-Arand

- After fac rejected the proposal to allow mining in Tara, Iifco reworked its plans for developing the mines

- Rajasthan rajya vidyut utpadan Nigam reworked its proposal to mine the Parsa East and Kante Basin in two phases

- These coal blocks will be linked to supercritical thermal power plants

The Economic Times, 24 June, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/indl-goods-/-svs/metals-mining/jairam-ramesh-okays-mining-proposals-on-fringes-of-hasdeo-arand-forest/artic


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