In Maharashtra, mining cos decide ecological impact of projects

MUMBAI: It's yet another glaring lacuna in the government's skewed mining policy. Environment Impact Assessment reports for mining projects — which assess the long-term effect a project will have on the environment — are prepared by the mining firms themselves with the help of private agencies whom they appoint. This EIA report is then put up for public hearing, after which the draft, along with the minutes of the hearing, is sent to an Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) appointed by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) for final approval of the project.

TOI on Friday reported how the Maharashtra government has issued 49 mining leases in the eco-sensitive Sindhudurg district, out of which 32 permits are in the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg region, which has the highest forest cover within Sindhudurg.

"The EIA reports of many of these mining leases will now be prepared and there is a genuine concern, looking at past records, that they will be a cut-and-paste job done by some private agency appointed by the mining company," says D Stalin, project director, Vanshakti.

The EIA reports prepared by the Hyderabad-based Bhagavati Analabs for two of its proposed mining projects at Kalane and Asaniye in Sawantwadi are cases in point. "These EIA reports did not mention the water bodies or the rich flora and fauna here," says Sandeep B Sawant, a Sawantwadi-based environmentalist.

"The first EIA report on Asaniye village stated that there was no horticulture in our village when we have 110 acres of horticulture. It also said the village had medium-quality soil when we have one of the most fertile lands in Maharashtra. The report also said that we depend on borewells when we have 55 perennial streams running into the village and do not need borewells. This is all done to show that we do not have any occupation and the farm yield is low."

According to Goa-based activist Claude Alvares, over 100 mines have come up in Goa in ecologically sensitive areas based on false EIA reports. Officials in the environment ministry say that flawed policy does often lead to EIA reports being fabricated. "The EIA report should ideally be vetted by an independent agency so that there is more accountability," state environment secretary Valsa Nair Singh said.