Centre for Environment Education report slams Goa mining

PANAJI: There's more trouble in store for the mining industry in Goa with the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) stating in its interim report that the environment impact assessment (EIA) reports submitted to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) for environmental clearances (ECs) provided misleading information.

The CEE, appointed in 2011 to analyze the EIA reports of Goa's mining, is expected to submit its report to the department of science, technology and environment shortly. Sources said the findings are likely to cause the ECs of mining firms to be brought under further scrutiny.

In its interim report, a copy of which is with TOI, the CEE has stated that many of the EIA documents fail to note the presence of water sources such as rivers, springs etc in the mining lease areas. The few that do wrongly identify these as "seasonal nullahs". "Springs have no mention in any of the EIA documents, but visits to a few mines revealed the presence of perennial or seasonal springs in the core or buffer zones," states the report.

It further states that the EIAs never mentioned the impact of mines on health, no data towards this was collected while drawing up the EIAs. "Impact of fugitive dust on flora and fauna has not been mentioned. No proper documentation of flora and fauna within and outside the lease area has also been done," states the report.

It notes the discrepancies in the distance of the lease areas from protected areas, the absence of any wildlife management or conservation plan in the core and buffer areas, the absence of any management for migratory species of birds and other animals, and the lack of corridors for movement of animals.

It also notes that most EIAs failed to properly document the demographic profile in and around the lease areas and the land use pattern. The EIAs largely do not provide the exact number of households belonging to the ST community, nor document the dependency of people on agriculture or forests for their livelihoods, notes the report.

"No adequate plan for mines and dump management is specified in the EIAs. Data for the environmental management plan on air, water and biology has deficiency, and no proper plan of monitoring is specified in the environment management plan," further states the report.

Mining firms would engage agencies to prepare EIAs that were then submitted to the MoEF to obtain an EC to commence mining activities.

The CEE report corroborates what environmentalists, anti-mining activists and Panaji MLA Manohar Parrikar, in his earlier stint as opposition leader and present stint as chief minister, have been saying all along-that the EIA reports have carried wrong information.

It was following these allegations raised during an assembly session in 2011 that the then environment minister Aleixo Sequeira directed the department of science, technology and environment to inquire into the same. The department in turn asked CEE to analyze all the EIAs submitted by Goa's mining companies to MoEF. Noted environmentalist Madhav Gadgil assisted the CEE in its analysis. All mining activities in the state have been banned since September 2012.