TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has been requested to expedite the process of granting environmental clearances (ECs) to the legal mining leases, that would be renewed by government and also to notify the buffer zone near the State wildlife sanctuaries and national park.
The State Government has also petitioned the Ministry to make necessary amendments to the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification 2011 giving relaxation to traditional coastal inhabitants, especially fisher folks and tribals to carry out minimal commercial activities in the coastal areas.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday met Minister for MoEF Prakash Javadekar with a request to expedite the process of granting ECs, which were suspended since 2012. Parrikar informed the Minister that government has decided to renew 28 mining leases under section 8(3) of Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act 1957.
On the buffer zone issue, the Chief Minister urged the Ministry to review its earlier notification of immediate and outright ban on mining activities within one kilometer of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the state and rather allow State to phase out mining in the buffer zones in the next 10 years.
