National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

industry, labour, academics, and NGOs from North and South America, Europe, Australia,and South Africa. Following the working group’s fourth meeting in September 2004 andapproval from the ICMM, the Supplement was made available for use. Highlights of the GRIguidelines and the Supplement may be seen at Annexures 4–6.3.10 In this background, we can now examine the extent to which the provisions of the twostatutes, viz. FCA and EPA, fulfil the standards set by the MMSD and the ICMM’s SDF. Allthe presentations made before the Committee acknowledged the importance of environmentand forestry in the mining areas. There is unanimity on the imperative for maintaining theenvironment, restoring ecological balance, and preserving and adding to the forest wealth ofthe nation. Almost 20 per cent of all mineral occurrences in the country are in forest areas,and in the bulk mineral-rich states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Orissa, the percentage ofminerals occurring in forest areas rises to 40 per cent. Nevertheless, if the mineral wealth ofthe nation is to be exploited in the interest of overall development, then conservation has tobe pursued consistently with the needs of development. It was clear from the presentations tothe Committee that the industry recognised that mining intervention should not only ensurethe least damage to the environmental and ecological balance but also proactively add to thenatural capital by such measures as regeneration of flora and fauna along with all otherdepleted resources such as water and soil in areas affected by the intervention. This is clearlypossible in all situations given the sophistication of technologies now available, as shown byMMSD and the ICMM/IUCN’s SDF framework.3.11 In India, at present, the specificity of the issue of sustainable development in themining sector is not fully reflected in the two statutes, viz. FCA and EPA. The focus providedby ICMM on the mining sector-specific issues in the context of sustainable development andthe vast potential for action in this regard is missing. This has led to a lack of appreciation ofthe potential for advancing mining within the framework of sustainable development, on theone hand, and the absence of conservation and environmental measures outside the twostatutes, on the other. A close look at the issues arising out of the two statutes reveals that thepreoccupation is mainly with two concerns, namely, compensation for diversion in variousforms, including compensating afforestation, and the need for EIA studies prior to grant ofenvironmental clearances. While the importance of the regulatory aspect of sustainabledevelopment cannot be underplayed, it is necessary to recognise that the global level dialoguecurrently underway has taken the entire issue of sustainable development in mining to a much71