Team Herald
PANJIM: Ore rejects will not be permitted to be dumped in forests or protected areas, Environment and Forests Minister Rajendra Arlekar said on Tuesday. The statement comes after the Union Ministry of Mines has legalized dumping of iron ore rejects outside lease areas after seeking necessary forest and environment clearances.
On May 6, the Union Mines Ministry amended the Mines and Minerals Development Regulation (MMDR) Act 2015, legalizing dumping of ore outside lease boundaries, stating that the need was felt to define ‘leased area’ in order to expand the scope of lease area by including therein dumping of mineral rejects.
“We will not allow iron ore rejects to be dumped in forests or protected areas anymore,” Arlekar told media persons.
As far as handling of existing dumps lying in forest area is concerned, the Minister said, “I will have to study the provisions of the latest amendment and also the Supreme Court committee report (six member committee appointed to decide on handling of dumps) on it. I cannot comment before that.”
As per the amendment, mining lease holders are entitled to dump mining waste or rejects from the mines in land adjacent to the lease area even if such areas do not fall within the area covered by the mining lease, subject to necessary environmental, forest and other clearances. Further, such dumping may not attract the requirement to pay royalty.
As per State records, 139 mining dumps are on forest land, of which 95 are in South Goa and 44 in North Goa, the quantity of which is almost 40 percent of the total iron ore in dumps in the State. Nearly 750 million tonnes of ore are lying in dumps on forest, non-forest, government and private land. In most cases, the dumps are covered with trees, vegetation and acacia and casuarina plantations.
The Goa State Mining Policy 2013 favouring removal of dumps from forest areas states that dumps within forest areas, including sanctuaries, are causing problems for wildlife. The policy states that the government will seek special approval (if required) from the MoEF for their removal.
