The Supreme Court’s order allowing 18 A category mines to resume mining operations “gives psychological relief, not real relief” to the mining industry, said a senior official of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) on Monday.
Speaking to The Hindu after the Supreme Court order , FIMI secretary general R.K. Sharma said most of the mines would “take time” to resume operations. The court also allowed three B category mines to go ahead with reclamation and rehabilitation (R&R) measures.
May be a year
Mr. Sharma said many of the 18 mines may require as long as a year to start mining activities as they have to get the necessary statutory clearances from government agencies.
“It remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court will hear this issue or deal with the report on alleged illegalities at the Belekeri port at its next hearing on September 7,” he said.
S.R. Hiremath, President of Samaj Parivartan Samudaya (SPS), whose petition before the Supreme Court led to the ban on mining, confirmed that it may take “at least one year” for most of the mines to become active. He said the SPS has argued in court that there are several A category mines, which have “committed grave irregularities”. “We are against the categorisation. As far as we are concerned there are only two categories — legal and illegal,” Mr. Hiremath told The Hindu .
Mr. Hiremath said the mining industry is “legally obliged” to conduct R&R activities. “It [the industry] is not doing anybody a favour by doing it,” he remarked.
Different offences
R.K. Bansal, additional secretary general, FIMI, said the three B category mines have only been allowed to implement R&R measures, not start mining. The A category mines, numbering about 45, are those that have been found by the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to have committed relatively “minor” offences. The B category mines, numbering about 75, are those that have been found to have committed more serious violations, whereas the C Category mines, numbering about 45, have been found to have committed the more egregious offences.
The only one
Mr. Bansal said of the 18 mines that have been allowed to start operations only one is “actually in a position to start mining immediately”. “Hopefully, there will be no further intervention by the courts,” he said.
Plans
He said FIMI has submitted 25 R&R plans pertaining to 25 B Category mines to the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), which carried out the Environmental Impact Assessment in the mining areas of the State.
The proposals would be submitted to the CEC soon, he added.
