ISSN 0972-4648 MINENVIS

A Newsletter of the ENVIS Centre

on
Environmental Problems of Mining Areas
Number 47
December 2005

Website: www.geocities.com/envis_ism

Centre of Mining Environment

Indian School of Mines
Dhanbad – 826 004
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Published by
Professor Gurdeep Singh
Head and Co-ordinator
ENVIS Nodal Centre
Centre of Mining Environment
Indian School of Mines
Dhanbad – 826 004
Jharkhand, INDIA

All Rights Reserved

© December 2005 MINENVIS

No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without written permission from the copyright owner.

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 CONTENTS

Sl. Page No.

No.

1. Biofertilizer: An Eco-Friendly Fertilizer for the 1

Reclamation of Overburden Dumps

2. Iron in the Soul 16

3. Mine or Yours? 17

4. The Hidden Subsidy 20

5. Government Circular 22

6. Some Important Statistics related to Coal Mining 32

7. Current News 35

8. Important Parliament Questions 63

9. Environmental Clearance 67

10. Some Selected References 70

11. National/ International Events 72

12. Some Useful Links related to Research 73

Institutions/Laboratories

13. ENVIS Query Form 74

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 BIOFERTILIZER: AN ECO-FRIENDLY FERTILIZER FOR THE
RECLAMATION OF OVERBURDEN DUMPS

M ining is one of the necessary evils of the modern world. It provides the materials required
to sustain quality of life, but does immense, sometimes irreparable, damage to the
environment. Opencast mining, where ores are recovered from exposed areas, is particularly
disruptive to both the landscape and the ecosystem. Waste materials, or soil spoils, that remain
after the extraction of usable ores, are dumped on the surrounding land. These sites leave the
land devoid of topsoil, nutrients and supportive microflora and vegetation – in a word, barren.
As mining activities spread, so does the damage, causing more and more disruption to the
region's land, aquatic and atmospheric ecosystems. Over the short term, opencast mining can
reduce forest yields; over the long term, it can lead to dramatic changes in microclimates.
Minerals generally extracted by opencast mining include coal, manganese, iron, copper and
zinc. The mining spoils – literally dumps – that result from such activities create stark hostile
environments. Mine dust, for instance, pollutes the air. Meanwhile, more tangible toxic by-
products are channelled into streams and rivers as a result of runoff, or seep into the
groundwater. In both cases, the unwanted by-products of mining activities carry a high risk of
contaminating the region's water supplies (undp.org). For reclamation of such problematic mine
spoils, biofertilizers like Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillium, phosphate solubilizers and
mycorrhiza can be used because when added to the spoil they provide special advantages.
Fixing atmospheric nitrogen and mobilizing essential micronutrients make these easily
accessible to plants. This approach leads to achieve the fertility of barren dumps in a very short
time, thus improving the water holding capacity of soil and creating topsoil to sustain high
quality vegetation forever. Due to high metabolic and reproductive rates, they immobilize
nutrients that would otherwise be lost through leaching. Soil microbes also exhibit great
metabolic versatility, which allows them to adapt to the low nutrient levels and adverse
chemical and physical characteristics of mine wastes. Therefore, reclamation with biofertilizers
seems to be an attractive and cost-effective alternative for revegetating the barren mine spoils.
1. Concept of Biofertilizer
Biofertilizers are the source of microbial inoculants, which have brought hopes for many
countries both economically and environmentally. therefore, in developing countries like India,
biofertilizers can solve problems of high cost of fertilizers and thus can save the economy of
the country (Gupta et al., 2003). Bio-fertilizers, in strict sense, are not fertilizers which directly
give nutrition to crop plants. These are cultures of microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, packed
in a carrier material. Thus, the critical input in Biofertilizers is the microorganisms. They help
the plants indirectly through better Nitrogen (N) fixation or improving the nutrient availability
in the soil (nabard.org).
Biofertilizers can be defined as "microbial inoculants which contain live or latent cells of
selected strains of nitrogen fixing, phosphate solubilizing microorganisms used for application
to seed, soil or composting areas to accelerate certain microbial processes; thus augmenting
the availability of nutrients in an easily assimilable forms to plants."
The commercial history of biofertilizers began with the launch of ‘Nitragin’ by Nobbe
and Hiltner, a laboratory culture of Rhizobia in 1895, followed by the discovery of Azotobacter
and then the blue green algae and a host of other micro-organisms. Azospirillium and Vesicular-
Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM) are fairly recent discoveries. In India the first study on legume

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Rhizobium symbiosis was conducted by N.V.Joshi and the first commercial production started
as early as 1956. However, the Ministry of Agriculture initiated the real effort to popularize and
promote the input with the setting up of the National Project on Development and Use of
Biofertilizers (NPDB)(ieg.nic.in).
1.1 Disadvantages of Chemical Fertilizers and advantages of Biofertilizers
During the last 30 years or so, there was a quantitative shift in favour of using chemical
fertilizers by the farming community. Repeated and extensive use of these chemical fertilizers
has deteriorated soil quality, resulting in progressively diminishing crop yield. Vast tracts of
agricultural land have turned barren and unproductive (suvash.com).The use of chemical
fertilizers and pesticides has caused tremendous harm to the environment. Three vital natural
resources namely, soil, water and air are liable to be affected by excessive use of chemical
fertilizer. The disadvantages of using chemical fertilizer are as follows:
Water Pollution
The main problem associated with excessive use of fertilizers is the eutrophication of
surface water. Arable soils leak considerable amount of nutrients which enrich the water body
resulting in more growth of algae and other organisms and thus impair the quality of water and
limits its use. Application of nitrogen fertilizers also results in increasing the concentration of
nitrate in ground water. Two main alleged health hazards are blue baby diseases of young
babies and cancer due to nitrate ingestion in food and water.
Atmospheric Pollution
It is argued that nitrogenous fertilizers contribute substantially towards emissions of
nitrogen oxides such as nitric oxide, nitrous oxide and nitrogen dioxide which may cause many
disorders to animals and human beings. It also emits ammonia, one of the agents causing acid
rain.
Damage to crops and soils
Evidences showed that excessive use of fertilizers particularly nitrogen, cause lodging of
crops, low sugar content in sugar crops, acidifying action and increased incidence of weed and
pest attacks. At the same time heavy use of N fertilizers is also inimical to Rhizobium, the
microbe responsible for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. It has also been said that the population of
earthworms is limited in nitrogen applied fields.
Heavy metal contamination
There is an increasing concern about occurrence of trace elements in the environment in
concentrations which can be harmful for animal health. Many fertilizers contain varying
amounts of trace elements such as F, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb etc. Incidental addition of
these elements may lead to their accumulation in soils and ground water aquifers.
The judicious use of nature's own biofertilizers by their biotechnological applications
appears to be a suitable answer to this problem. Biofertilizers can be used to overcome the
problems of chemical fertilizers. There are several advantages in using biofertilizer, which are
as follows:
i. they have high nitrogen-fixing capabilities
ii. they can solubilize phosphates
iii. they can also supply Vitamin Bl2, Auxin and Ascorbic acid

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iv. they involve less energy, low cost and less effort in their production whereas chemical
fertilizers are expensive and involve higher energy in their production e.g., the Haber
process of ammonia synthesis requires temperature upto 800°F, a catalyst and high
pressures, yet the same synthesis by nitrogen and hydrogen is accompanied by a nitrogen
fixing microbes of the soil at ordinary pressure and temperature by the mediation of
enzyme
v. microbial processes are quick
vi. no pollution hazards by using biofertilizers whereas application of chemical fertilizers
cause pollution
vii. they save non-renewable form of energy
viii. they can be stored for long duration
ix. they need little space for storage
x. they have less chance of getting damaged
1.2 Types of Biofertilizers
There are various types of biofertilizers which are as follows,
(a) Nitrogen-fixing biofertilizers
- Rhizobium
- Azotobacter
- Azospirillium
- Blue-green algae
- Azolla
(b) Phosphorus mobilising biofertilizers
i) Phosphate solubilizer
- Bacillus
- Pseudomonas
- Aspergillus niger
ii) Phosphate absorber
- VAM fungi - e.g., Glomus, Gigaspora
(c) Organic matter decomposer biofertilizers
i) Cellulolytic
- Cellulomonus
- Trichoderma
ii) Lignolytic
- Arthrobacter
- Agaricus
Details of some important biofertilizers are discussed below:

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Rhizobium spp.
These are gram negative soil bacteria. They form a symbiotic association with
leguminous plants to form nodules in the roots of host plant. These nodules are the sites of
nitrogen fixation. Active nodules contain a red pigment called leghaemoglobin. This
leghaemoglobin pigment regulates the oxygen diffusion within the nodule. Intensities of
nitrogen fixation is directly proportional to the amount of haemoglobin present in nodules.
They fix atmospheric nitrogen and thus not only increase the production of the inoculated
crops, but also leave a fair amount of nitrogen in the soil, which benefits the subsequent crops.
Rhizobium spp. are the best biofertilizers for legumes. Inoculum of Rhizobium can add 50-230
Kg N/ha. Although Rhizobium is abundant in soil, all of them are not able to nodulate all types
of legumes. Because of their specificity, for each legume, effective inoculum is to be developed
for each crop.
Azotobacter and Azospirillum (Asymbiotic nitrogen - fixers)
They are bacteria which reduce nitrogen to ammonia in soil which is acceptable by
plants. They are also helpful in synthesizing phytohormones and vitamins by plants. In the
presence of these bacteria, plants become less susceptible to some fungal diseases. They are
widely used for cereals like maize, millet and sorghum, Azotobacter can fix upto 30 kg of
nitrogen from 1000 kg of organic matter and hence save 10-30 kg/ha of N2, Similarly,
Azospirillium led to saving of 15-25 kg equivalent of N2 per hectare.
Blue-Green Algae (BGA)
Dominant nitrogen-fIxer blue-green algae are Anabaena, Nostoc, Aulosira, Calothrix,
Plectonema etc. Blue-green algae have the abilities of photosynthesis as well as biological
nitrogen fixation. Like in many other biological systems, nitrogen fixation in Cyanobacteria is
brought about by an enzyme known as nitrogenase (Mishra & Pabbi, 2004). Besides being a
source of nitrogen, BGA provide for the following other advantages -
- algal biomass accumulates as organic matter.
- growth promoting substances are produced e.g., Vit BI2, auxin, ascorbic acid
etc., which stimulate growth of rice seedling
- it provides partial tolerance to pesticides and fungicides
- it also helps in reclamation of saline and alkaline soils
-they are widely used for rice and banana cultivation.
Azolla
Azolla is an aquatic fern occurring in ditches and stagnant water. It harbours an algal
endosymbiont Anabaena azollae which fixes atmospheric nitrogen. The Azolla – Anabaena
symbiosis has attracted attention as a biofertilizer worldwide, especially in South East Asia. It
is widely used in rice cultivated areas and fish culture ponds. It can fix upto 900 kg N/ha/year.
Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (VAM) fungi
The roots of most plant species form symbiotic association with specialized fungi (e.g.,
Glomus, Gigaspora etc.) called mycorrhiza. Vesicular–Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (VAM) is the
most abundant kind of mycorrhizal described as ‘ a universal plant symbiosis’. Studies on
VAM fungi conducted during last few decades envisaged their occurrence in a wide variety of
hosts, different habitats and variability in quality and quantity.

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There are several advantages of VAM fungi which are as follows:
-
more uptake of other nutrients such as Cu, Zn and NH4+
- allow plant to grow in harsh conditions such as heavily polluted, acidic and eroded sites
- increase resistance to diseases
- increase nitrogen fixation by legumes
- check soil erosion by binding soil particles
- enhance uptake of water
Bacillus, Pseudomonas etc.
They act as phosphate solubilizer. They reduce the pH of soil by producing various
types of organic acids in soil. In such conditions, insoluble fixed phosphate changes into
soluble free phosphate which is readily available for plants.
1.3 Critical factors responsible for the effectiveness of biofertilizers
The critical factors which are responsible for the effectiveness of a particular bio-
fertilizer are as follows:
• Suitability of the species to the target crop
• Suitability of the strain: There are specific strains of Rhizobium for different
leguminous species like Cowpea, Red gram, Soybean, Alfalfa etc. Biofertilizer of
specific culture should be used for specific crop.
• Identification of strains as suited to the agro-eco system, particularly the soil pH and
moisture conditions. Through research, specific strains as suited to a particular soil and
environmental conditions are usually identified and pure mother cultures are
maintained in research labs for supply to the commercial manufacturers.
• The aseptic conditions of manufacturing, the cell count of living organism present in
the carrier material, purity and level of contamination.
• The conditions of carrier material in which the culture is packed and the quality of the
packing material, which determine the shelf life.
• The conditions in which the packed materials are stored, distributed and kept with the
farmers before it is applied.
• Soil conditions particularly pH, organic matter content, moisture level and agronomic
practices. (nabard.org)
1.4 Inoculant Standard of Biofertilizers
The standard of biofertilizers have been published by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
as per the following details:
• Rhizobium (IS:8268 :2000)
• Azotobacter (IS:9138:2000)
• Azospirillum (IS:14806 :2000)
• Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria (PSB) (IS:14807: 2000)
(Source: National Biofertiliser Development Centre, Govt. of India, Ministry of Agriculture-
http://dacnet.nic.in/ncof/productionunit.htm).

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1.5 Method and Area of Application of Biofertilizers
Different methods are available for applications of various biofertilizers which are
outlined below.
• As seed inoculant - e.g., Rhizobium. Seed treatment is a most common method adopted
for all types of inoculant. The seed treatment is effective and economic.
• As soil inoculant - e.g., carrier based blue-green algae, Azotobacter.
• As seed & soil inoculant - VAM fungi.
Carrier materials for BGA inoculum are straw, rice bran, polyurethane foam and
sugarcane waste.
Biofertilizers can be applied for variety of crops such as:
Biofertilizer Beneficiary Crops
Rhizobium Crop specific biofertilizers for legume like Groundnut, Soybean, Red-
gram, Green-gram, Black-gram, Lentil, Cowpea, Bengal-gram and
Fodder legumes
Azotobacter Cotton, Vegetables, Mulberry, Plantation Crop, Rice, Wheat, Barley,
Ragi, Jowar, Mustard, Safflower, Niger, Sunflower, Tobacco, Fruit ,
Spices, Condiment, Ornamental Flower
Azospirillum Sugarcane, Vegetables, Maize, Pearl millet, Rice, Wheat, Fodders, Oil
seeds, Fruit and Flower
Blue Green Algae Rice, banana
Azolla Rice
Phosphate Solubilizing All Crops (non specific)
Microorganisms(PSM)
VAM fungi for variety of plant
Source: National Biofertiliser Development Centre, Govt. of India, Ministry of
Agriculture(http://dacnet.nic.in/ncof/productionunit.htm)
(List of Commonly Produced Bio-Fertilizers in India is shown in Annexure-1)
2. Application of Biofertilizers for the Reclamation of Overburden Dumps
Opencast mining destroy the original land ecosystem and microbial community due to
mining activity and stockpiling of mine rejects on adjoining land. The landscapes that emerge
are devoid of supportive and nutritive capacity for biomass development. Several microbial
processes such as nitrogen and carbon cycling, humification and soil aggregation are practically
non-functional posing scientific challenges in the restoration of rhizosphere productivity and
fertility. The degraded land does not possess suitable surface soil to provide bedding layer for
anchorage of plant and to support the biomass. Also the plant growth is not supported due to
presence of toxic materials. Gradual increase in such landscapes due to intensive mining
activity endangers not only the agroforestry productivity but also the aquatic eco-systems. The
rejuvenation of mine spoil dump and mined land productivity and fertility through amendment
of organic material, biofertilizers and endomycorrhizal fungi will enable restoration of the

6
degraded land ecosystem and helps to create luxuriant forests in the country providing
substantial carbon dioxide sink vital for biosphere integrity, built up of nutritive top soil and
enhanced ground water recharge (Juwarkar, 2004).
The reasons that mine spoil waste present difficulties for plant growth is due to its
physical, chemical and biological constraints:
♦ Physical constraints - account of unfavourable porosity, aeration, water infiltration and
percolation properties alongwith high bulk density and absence of structural aggregates in
the dumps.
♦ Chemical constraints - involve low concentration of essential plant nutrients, poor nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium status, unfavourable pH range, deficiency of calcium,
magnesium etc. and very poor organic matter.
♦ Biological constraints- refer to the absence of beneficial microorganisms which play an
important role in restoring physico - chemical and biological properties of soil. The
microorganisms contribute to the development of soil structure, synthesis of plant nutrients
through the nitrogen fixation and amelioration of adverse chemical and physical
limitations.
Biofertilizers can be used to reclaim the overburden dumps because
• Fixing atmospheric nitrogen and mobilizing essential micronutrients make these easily
accessible to the plants.
• This approach leads to achieve the fertility of barren dumps in a very short time, thus
improving the water holding capacity of the spoil and creating top soil to sustain high
quality vegetation forever.
• In spite of physico-chemical properties of mine spoil which are important in determining
the initial plant establishment and growth, the biological factor play a vital role in
successful maintenance of soil fertility and the evaluation of a stable soil plant.
• Decomposition and nutrient cycling are the main processes for the stability of an
ecosystem. Due to high metabolic and reproductive rates the soil microorganism also have
the capability to immobilize nutrients that would otherwise be lost through leaching.
• Soil microbes also exhibit great metabolic versatility which allows them to adapt to the low
nutrient levels and adverse chemical characteristics of mine wastes.
• Phytoreclamation can be made more successful by identification of constraints and
resolving them by careful selection of plant species, appropriate amendment and selective
microorganisms and biofertilizers.
• Therefore, phytoreclamation seems to be an attractive and cost effective for revegetating
the barren mine spoils.
An Integrated Biotechnological Approach (IBA) for bioremediation of mine spoil dumps
and degraded ecosystems has been developed by scientists at National Environmental
Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur & University of Delhi and has been
successfully demonstrated at a number of sites. The process leads to the development of
supportive and nutritive rhizosphere in mine spoil dumps through appropriate blending of spoil
and organic waste(s) for association of plants with specialised culture(s) of microorganisms
involved in nitrogen- fixation, phosphate solubilisation and growth promotion. IBA helps in
restoration of microbial activity within a short span of around 18 months and restoration of

7
natural bio-geochemical cycles within three–four years, a process that would normally take
100-300 years. Moreover, microbial processes such as humification and soil aggregation are
also enhanced. Desertified sites and degraded ecosystems have been converted into lush green
grasslands and three-storeyed forests by appropriate selection of plant species naturally found
in the area combined with appropriate use of nitrogen fixers, phosphate solubilisers and other
growth promoters (dbtindia.nic.in). Various companies have already applied the techniques
successfully for reclaiming their overburden dumps viz., Manganese Ore(India) Limited,
Western Coalfields Limited, South Eastern Coalfields Limited, Kudremukh Iron Ore Company
Limited, Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd. (NLC) etc.
The application of Integrated Biotechnological Approach(IBA) for Phytoremediation of
iron mine spoil dump at Codli iron mine under Sesa Goa Limited, Goa has led to the
development of supportive and nutritive rhizosphere and turned the barren iron mine spoil
dump into lush green vegetation within three years of plantation. Different plant species of
high ecological and economical importance showed good response towards IBA. Increase in
the height of the different plant species on dumpsite was due to the amendment of spoil with
soil, FYM and biofertilizers inoculum (Juwarkar et al., 2003).
Restoration of fertility and productivity of manganese mine spoil dumps from
Dongribuzrukh, Gumgaon and Chikala mines was carried out using pressmud, biofertilizers and
endomycorrhizal fungi. The combined treatment of Shishum plants with Rhizobium and
endomycorrhizal fungi resulted in 53-64 times more nodulation and 5.2-6.3 times higher root
biomass compared to uninoculated one. Profuse root development was also observed with
respect to teak, shiwan and neem due to Azotobacter and mycorrhizae treatment (Juwarkar et
al., 1994). IBA has transformed a portion of an opencast manganese ore dump in Gumgaon into
productive mulberry plantation.
It is observed by NLC that the application of humic acid, biofertilizers and VAM
increases the yield in the crops as well as increases the growth of trees.
One of serious problems in gold mining activity is the over capacity of tailing dam to
store the tailing soil. In addition, restoration of tailing soil is the most difficult aspect on
reclamation of mining area. Chemical characteristic such as acidity, alkalinity, salinity, and
high concentration of heavy metals are common problem in gold mining. Ectomycorrhizal
fungi plays important role to improve the productivity of tailing soils as a waste of gold mining
activity. Organic fertilizer amendment is still needed to stimulate the biogeochemistry process
(Supriyanto et al., 2005).
Among the 43 identified plant species in Indonesia grown on tailings, the root systems of
39 species (90%) are colonized by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi(AMF).These data show that
mycorrhizal associations are needed for plants to successfully adapt to growing conditions on
gold and copper tailing deposits. The mycelial network may be important as a chelating agent
and in nutrient absorption, and this can facilitate plant establishment on tailing sites (Setiadi et
al., 2000).
The study in Jharia Coalfield revealed that all five species of VAM fungi were present in
revegetated overburden dumps. Those species are: Glomus, Gigaspora, Acaulospora,
Enterophospora and Sclerocystis. Glomus is the most predominant genus found in the mining
area. The occurrence of VAM spores in coal mine OB dumps are found to be double than non-
mining areas due to higher disturbance (Maiti et al., 2003).

8
 In India, the reclamation of a fly ash dump (3900 square m) was demonstrated for the
first time by introducing mycorrhizal technology at the Badarpur Thermal Power
Station(teriin.org).TERI has successfully used mycorrhizal technology to reclaim fly ash
dumps and turn them into green oasis. Lush green expanses surrounding the thermal power
plants- which produces a huge quantity of hazardous fly ash - at Badarpur in New Delhi, Korba
in Chattisagarh and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh stand out as a vibrant testimony to the
utility of this technology. The mycorrhizal fungi, accumulate heavy metals from fly ash through
their mycelial network and retain them in their physical structure(deccanherald.com). A variety
of commercially viable plants, including tree species [Poplar (Populus deltoides), Sheesham
(Dalbergia sissoo), Eucalyptus, and Meethi neem (Melia azadirach)] and floriculture and
aromatic species (marigold, carnation, sunflower, lemongrass, tuberose, gladioli, and lily), were
able to grow and establish themselves on fly ash overburdens following the application of this
technology (teriin.org).
Another breakthrough for the TERI was the successful reclamation of wastelands
contaminated with chlor alkali sludge. The team was able to successfully carpet the toxic
chemical bed with lush green plantations of bio diesel yielding Jatropha curcus as well as
Acacia and Casurina plantations which were fortified with mycorrhizal biofertilizcr that in turn
enhanced the nutritional uptake from soil to help plantations to get the much needed
phosphorous and nitrogen (Deccan Herald, 2005).
Thus, the improvement in the physico-chemical and microbial status of soil through
organic blending, inoculation with biofertilizers, screening of suitable plant species and
establishment of bio-geochemical cycle in the dumps are, therefore, essential to achieve the
objective of restoration of land fertility and productivity and reclamation of spoil dumps.
Results indicated that the mine spoil treated with soil, FYM, as ameliorative material, inoculum
with biofertilizers improved the physical, nutrient and microbiological status of mine spoil and
its application on large-scale developed a lush green vegetation.
3. Precautions & Recommendations
♦ Store biofertilizer packets in cool and dry place away from direct sunlight and heat.
♦ Use right combination of biofertilizers
♦ Rhizobium is crop specific, so use in specified crop
♦ Do not mix with chemicals
♦ After application, land must be irrigated adequately and immediately to save live
bacterial cells from desiccation.
♦ While purchasing ensure that each packet is provided with necessary information like
name of the product, name of the crop for which intended, name and address of the
manufacturer, date of manufacture, date of expiry, batch No and instructions for use
(List of Biofertilizer Production Units in India is shown in Annexure-2).
♦ Use the packet before expiry, only on the specified crop, by the recommended method.
♦ Biofertilizers are live product and require care in storage
♦ For best results use both nitrogenous and phosphatic biofertilizers
♦ Use of biofertilizers is being emphasized along with chemical fertilizers and organic
manures.

9
 ♦ Biofertilizers are not replacement of fertilizers but can supplement their requirement.
(dacnet.nic.in)
4. Limitations and Constraints
The major limiting factors include:
• Narrow genetic base of mother cultures and lack of efficient and virulent strains
suitable to various agro-environments.
• Unsatisfactory carrier material with uniform and consistent good quality comparable to
imported peat material.
• Contamination in broth mixing and packing stages, not using completely closed system
of production.
• Unsatisfactory packing material which reduces shelf life.
• Unsatisfactory storing conditions, particularly during the distribution period. Exposure
to high temperatures and sunlight destroy the microbial culture. They should be
preferably kept in cold storage conditions.
• Not employing properly trained microbiologist.
• Lack of quality controls and certification procedures.
(nabard.org)
5. Conclusions
Despite having certain limitations, Biofertilizers are potential alternative to chemical
fertilizers for improvement of soil fertility for sustainable crop productivity and revegetating
the mine spoils in cost effective and eco-friendly manner.
6. References
1. Enviro News, Vol.9, April-June, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt of India, New
Delhi (2005).
2. Farmers told to use biofertilizer, The Hindu, Sept. 07(2004).
3. Gupta, P.K. Elements of Biotechnology. Rastogi & Co., Meerut (1996).
4. Gupta, R.K., Kaushik, S., Sharma, P. and Jain, V.K. Biofertilizers: An eco-friendly
alternative to chemical fertilizers. Environmental Challenges of the 21st Century, APH
Publishing Corporation, New Delhi, pp 275-287 (2003).
5. Juwarkar, A.S. Mowade , S. Thawale, P.R. and Juwarkar Asha. Manganese mine spoil
dump reclamation using pressmud and biofertilizers-a case study. Second National
Seminar on Minerals and Ecology, ISM, Dhanbad (1994).
6. Juwarkar, A.S., Juwarkar, Asha., Sahni , D.K. and Prasad T.N. Environmental
management in Manganese Ore (India) Limited (MOIL). Seventh National Symposium on
Environment, ISM, Dhanbad (1998).
7. Juwarkar, Asha A., Singh, S.K., Dubey, K. and Ninje, M. Reclamation of iron mine spoil
dumps using integrated biotechnological approach. National Seminar on Status of
Environmental Management in Mining Industry, B.H.U., Varanasi (2003).
8. Juwarkar, Asha A., Jambulkar, H.P. and Singh, S.K. Appropriate strategies for
reclamation and revegetation of coal mine spoil dumps. JIPHE published on the occasion

10
 of National seminar on Environmental Engineering with special Emphasis on Mining
Environment, ISM, Dhanbad, 19-20 March (2004).
9. Kumar Vibhas, Das, R.K., Pal A.K. and Saxena, N.C. Biofertilizer- An eco- friendly
fertilizer. Environmental Pollution Control Journal, Nov-Dec.(1999).
10. Maiti, S.K. Importance of VAM fungi in coal mine overburden reclamation and factors
effecting their establishment on overburden dumps. Environment & Ecology 15(3):602-
608 (1997)
11. Maiti, S.K and Shee, C. Status of VAMF-infections and spores in an afforested coalmine
overburden dumps-A case study from Jharia Coalfield, Jharkhand. National Seminar on
Status of Environmental Management in Mining Industry, B.H.U., Varanasi (2003).
12. Mishra, U. and Pabbi, S. Cyanobacteria: A potential biofertilizer for rice. Resonance,
June (2004).
13. Pabby Anjuli, Prasanna R and Singh, P. K. Azolla-Anabaena symbiosis - from traditional
agriculture to biotechnology. Indian Journal of Biotechnology, Special Issue on Plant
Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, 2(1), January (2003).
14. Reclaiming poisoned land, Deccan Herald, April 4(2005).
15. Setiadi, Y; Alkatiri, Y. and Rumainum, J. Biodiversity and role of the Arbuscular
Mycorrhizal fungi for enhancing tailings revegetation at PT Freeport Indonesia The XXI
IUFRO World Congress, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 7-12 August(2000).
16. Supriyanto and Ujang Susep Irawan. Role of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi and Organic
Fertilizer to Improve the Productivity of Tailing Soil in Gold Mining Area. FNCA (Forum
for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia) Biofertilizer Newsletter, No.6, November(2005).
17. Survey of Indian Agriculture, The Hindu (1995).
18. Survey of Indian Agriculture, The Hindu (1996).
19. Yadav, A.K; Chaudhuri, S. R. and Motsara, M.R.(ed.).Recent Advances in Biofertilizer
Technology Society for Promotion and Utilisation of Resources and Technology, New
Delhi(2001).
20. Website: http://www.moilind.com/comp_link.htm
21. Website: http://www.teriin.org/division/bbdiv/cmr/docs/abs23.htm
22. Website: http://www.undp.org/tcdc/bestprac/scitech/cases/st5ind.htm
23. Website: http://dbtindia.nic.in/r&d/bioenviron.html
24. Website: http://parisara.kar.nic.in/PDF/Land.pdf
25. Website: http://coal.nic.in/ann0304chap14.pdf.
26. Website: http://dacnet.nic.in/rbdcbangalore/bfahelp.htm
27. Website: http://www.nabard.org/roles/ms/ld/biofertilizer.htm
28. Website: http://ieg.nic.in/dis_nila_69.pdf
29. Website: http://www.teriin.org/case/flyash.htm
30. Website: http://www.suvash.com
31. Website: http://dacnet.nic.in/ncof/productionunit.htm
32. Website: http://www.biofertilizer.com/biofertilizer.html
33. Website: http://www.teriin.org/division/bmbdiv/cmr/docs/abs40.htm

11
 Annexure 1
List of Commonly Produced Biofertilizers in India
Name Crops suited Benefits usually seen Remarks
Rhizobium Legumes like pulses, 10-35% yield increase, 50- Fodders give better results. Leaves
groundnut, soybean 200 kg N/ha. residual N in the soil.
Azotobacter Soil treatment for non- legume 10-15% yield increase- Also controls certain diseases
crops including dry land crops adds 20-25 kg N/ha
Azospirillium Non-legumes like maize, 10-20% yield increase Fodders give higher/enriches fodder
barley, oats, sorghum, millet, response. Produces growth
Sugarcane, rice etc. promoting substances. It can be
applied to legumes as co-inoculant
Phosphate Soil application for all crops 5-30% yield increase Can be mixed with rock phosphate.
Solubilizers
Blue-green Rice/wet lands 20 -30 kg N/ha, Azolla can Reduces soil alkalinity, can be used
algae and give biomass up to 40-50 for fishes as feed. They have growth
Azolla tonnes and fix 30-100 kg promoting hormonal effects.
N/ha
Mycorrhizae Many trees, some crops, and 30-50% yield increase , Usually inoculated to seedlings.
(VAM) some ornamental plants enhances uptake of P. Zn,
S and Water.
Source: http://www.nabard.org

Annexure 2
List of Biofertilizer Production Units in India
Andhra Pradesh
Sri Aurbindo Institute of Rural Development (SAIRD), Nalgonda
Bacterial Culture Production Lab., Hyderabad
Biofertiliser Unit-Vijayawada, Madras Fertilizers Limited, Chennai
Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University, Agriculture Research Station, Amaravathi
Godavari Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited, Kakinada
Assam
Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd. (FP & ARD), Parbatpur
North East Green Tech Pvt. Ltd., Guwahati
Microbiology Laboratory, Assam Agro Industries Development Corporation Limited, Guwahati
Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat
Bihar
Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited, Begusarai
M/s Pyrites, Phosphates & Chemicals Limited, Rohtas
Gujarat
National Agricultural Research Project Biofertilizer Project
Gujarat Agriculture University, Anand
Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited, Vadodara
Gujarat State Co-operative Marketing Federation Ltd., Ahmedabad

12
 Haryana
Regional Biofertiliser Development Centre, Hissar
Ganpati Bio Organic Limited, Safidon
Himachal Pradesh
Central Laboratory, Shimla
Jharkhand
Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation Ltd., Sindri
Karnataka
West Coast Herbochem Ltd., Bangalore
Regional Biofertiliser Development Centre, Bangalore
Biofertilizer Unit- Bangalore, Madras Fertilizer Limited, Chennai
Karnataka Biofertilisers, Bijapur
Kadur Agro, Bangalore
Samrath Bio-Tech Ltd., Hubli
Shakthi Bio-Tech (P) Ltd., Vijaywada
Karnataka Agro Industries Corporation Limited, Bangalore
University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore
Karnataka Compost Development Corporation Limited, Bangalore
Rhizobium Culture Production Laboratory, Bangalore
University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad
Kerala
Biofertilizer Production Unit, Ramanathapuram, Ramanathapuram
The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd., Kochi
Soil Testing Laboratory, Pattambi, Palakkad
Agro Bio-Tech Research Centre Ltd., Kottayam
Madhya Pradesh
Regional Biofertiliser Development Centre, Jabalpur
Samridhi Bioculture Pvt. Ltd., Indore
Bio-Tech Research Centre, M.P. State Co-operative Oil-seed Growers’ Federation Ltd., Dhar
Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd., Bhopal
Trupti Bio-Tech Laboratory, Balaghat
The M.P. State Agro Industries Development Corporation, Biofertiiser Plant, Bhopal
Narmada Bio-Tech Limited, Barwaha
Nafed Biofertilizer, Indore
National Fertilizers Limited, Indore
Maharashtra
Regional Biofertiliser Development Centre, Nagpur
Sainath Agro Vet Industries Pvt. Ltd., Ahmed Nagar
BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune
Samruddhi Agrotech, Pune
Maharashtra Research & Development Centre, Solapur
Kumar Krishi Mitra Bio Products (I) Pvt. Ltd., Pune

13
 Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Pune
Biofertiliser Production Unit Sahakar Maharshi Shankarrao Mohite-Patil Sahakari Sakhar
Karkhana Ltd., Solapur
Institute of Natural Organic Agriculture (INORA), Pune
K-Ferts Lab, Nanded
Nirmal Seeds Pvt. Ltd., Jalgaon
Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited, Mumbai
Nomain Agri-Bio Pvt Ltd., Pune
Nilayam Bio-Fertiliser Production Unit, Wardha
Kisan Agro Chem, Naded
Nav Maharshta Chakan Oil Mill Ltd., Sangli
Environmental Protection Research Foundation, Sangli
Arun Biofertilizers, Kolhapur
Mahatama Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Pune
Mauli Biotech, Pune
Bio Agro Fertilisers, Pune
M/s Niku Bio-Research Lab, Pune
Manipur
Regional Biofertiliser Development Centre, Imphal
Mizoram
Biofertilizer Production Unit, Neihbawi, Department of Agriculture, Aizawl
New Delhi
Indian Agriculture Research Institutre (IARI), New Delhi
Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited, New Delhi
Orrisa
Regional Biofertiliser Development Centre, Bhubneshwar
Orrisa Agro Industries Corporation Ltd., Bhubneshwar
Deputy Director of Agriculture (PP), Bhubneshwar
Hindustan Fertiliser Corporations Limited, Bhubneshwar
State Bio Chemist, Bhubneshwar
Pondicherry
Pondicherry Agro Service and Industries Corporation Limited (PASIC),
Pondicherry
Punjab
Biofertiliser Production Unit, Ludhiana
Rajasthan
Nafed Biofertilizer, Bharatpur
Rhizobia Scheme Agriculture Department, Jaipur
Tamilnadu
Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Agriculture College and Research Institute, Tamil
Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai
Biofertilizer Production Unit, Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Cuddalore
Biofertilizer Production Unit, Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Thantavur

14
 Biofertilizer Production Unit, Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Trichy
KRIBHCO, Chennai
Regional Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Piyur
Monarch Bio-Fertilisers and Research Centre, Chennai
Lakshmi Bio-Tech, Cuddalore
Marygreen Afrotech (P) Ltd., Chennai
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore
T Stanes & Company Limited, Coimbatore
Esvin Advanced Technologies Limited, Chennai
Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Limited, Chennai
Biofertiliser Unit-Manali, Madras Fertilizers Limited, Chennai
Biofertilizer Production Unit, Salem
Biofertilizer Production Unit, Kudumiamalai
Main Biocontrol Research Laboratory, Chengalpattu
The SIMA Cotton Development and Research Association, Coimbatore
Uttar Pradesh
National Biofertiliser Development Centre, Ghaziabad
Myodelphia Chemicals Company (Pvt.) Ltd., Ghaziabad
M/s Kanhaiya Agrotech (Pvt.) Ltd., Mathura
Motilal Nehru Farmers Training Institute, Allahabad
Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited, Noida
West Bengal
Amit Biotech, Kolkata
Process Development and Analytical Control Research Laboratory, Kolkata
Nitrofix Laboratories, Kolkata
Hindustan Fertilizer Cooperation Ltd., Kolkata
Nodule Research Laboratory, Nadia
Green Tech Farms & Agro Pvt. Ltd, Kolkata
Nimpit Ashram, South 24-Parganas
Excel Bio-Tech Pvt. Ltd., Kolkatta
Micro Bac India, North 24-Parganas
Eastern Enterprises, Kolkata
West Bengal Forest Development Corporation Ltd., Kolkata
Source: National Biofertiliser Development Centre, Govt. of India, Ministry of Agriculture
(http://dacnet.nic.in/ncof/productionunit.htm)

This Article is contributed by: Shri Vibhas Kumar, ENVIS officer and Dr. Gurdeep Singh, Professor & Head,
Centre of Mining Environment, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad - 826 004

15
 Iron in the Soul

T his fortnight 12 tribals were killed in police firing in Orissa. Their crime: protesting against
the acquisition of their land for an industrial park. The state says it had 'acquired' some
4,856 hectare of land some years ago and paid handsome 'compensation' to people who held
land rights. It is another matter that it sold the same land to Tata Steel (against whose bhoomi
puja the tribals were protesting) for six times the price it paid to poor landowners. But for the
state government this protest is from the anti-development lobby in the state ideologues at best,
and agents of foreign governments or its competitors in industry. Or it is simply about more
violenee from Naxalite tribals, who want to terrorise the state, without reason.
But when its first (extremely hamhanded and brutal) efforts to quell dissent failed, Orissa
government has responded with offers of enhanced compensation to the dead - from Rs. 1 lakh
to Rs 5 lakh; jobs for a member of each bereaved family; and transfer of the district magistrate
and superintendent of police. It is another matter, again, that the officials have been transferred
(not suspended) to higher postings. But with this done, and talks of a new committee to work
out future rehabilitation packages, the government hopes to ride the tide once again.
The state is working feverishly on the fact that it sits on huge mineral reserves - 25 per
cent of the country's iron ore; 60 per cent of its bauxite, and 90 per cent of chromite reserves, to
name a few. In 1994, the country amended its mining legislation to allow private and foreign
investment to explore and exploit 13 minerals, including iron ore, and added bauxite to the list
in 1997. Since then, things haven’t been the same. investors - Indian and foreign - are beating
down the doors of the poor state's poor government to be allowed land for industry and for
mining raw material. The state sees itself on a roll.
This is not to say that it hasn't seen skirmishes earlier. In Kashipur, the bauxite mining
project of Utkal Alumina International, a joint venture of the Canada-based ALCAN with the
Aditya Birla group of India, ran into a decade-long struggle. The tribals agitated furiously at
their lands being taken away for mining; the state responded with police firing in which tribals
died, twice. The million tonne a year refinery and its mines in biodiversity rich forests of the
Sterlite group faces protests. As was the Jindal group's steel plant and its acquisition of land for
its mining. The list goes on. And will go on.
The problem is there's been virtually no learning from any of these protests. Truth is the
state is sitting on a real tinderbox. Nearing half the state's area is tribal and comes under the
Schedule V of the Constitution. This land is forested, and enormously rich in biodiversity. The
tribals who live on this land and practise subsistence agriculture are poor, and in many cases do
not have recorded rights over the land they work.
This is part of the history we have inherited. Lands occupied by tribals for shifting
agriculture was taken over by the state and designated forestland. It is for reason that these
lands are even more contested. When the state looks at compensation, it can only understand
the private landholdings, which is a minuscule part of the land-use system of the region. These
forested lands, inhabited by poor people, are also the watersheds of central India. These lands,
incidentally, also happen to be the mining reserves of the country.
Conflict is then inherent in the situation as there are competing needs and competing
values for the same land. But the government remains mute and dismissive. In its mental

16
poverty, it argues that anything it does to recognise the concern, will stymie its plans to develop
feverishly. Its investment will move to other countries, even to other states of India: Jharkhand,
West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
In this situation, the government becomes not the protector of public interest but industry's
incident middle - man. It will ensure cheap land, which it; will acquire at throwaway prices,
using, means less than fair. It will make preferential allocation - without payment - for its raw
materials: minerals, forests and water. Orissa has reserved 18 rivers and reservoirs exclusively
for industry.
This is a real problem. People live on these lands. The industry that will use these lands
will not bring benefits to the local economy. The industry extracts local resources; displaces
local people; overuses their water; and destroys the country's forests. And being modern and
mechanised, industry will not even provide local employment. For the inhabitants of these
lands, there are no benefits.
For answers, one needs to go beyond the impasse between the opponents of mining and
the proponents of mining at any cost. We must understand that while we have liberalised the
mining regime, we haven't reformed our mining policy. For instance, we have no policy on how
much we should mine; where and whether we should allow exports of our primary products.
We have no policy on how to ascertain the cost of raw material in the market place. Currently
the royalty paid by mining companies is a pittance. In cement, we know that the cost of
limestone – its basis raw material - is only 4 per cent of its turnover. In steel or alumina, the
situation's much the same.
Another question: how best to share this royalty, cess or price. Fact is poor people live on
the richest lands of the country. If it is their land, it is also their resource, which they will share
with the nation only under certain conditions.
Policy for mining is then not about minerals, but about people, lands, forests and water. Let
us be clear: the tribals of Kalinganagar are not against development. They are only against
development on the cheap, at their cost. .
[Source: Down To Earth, January 31, 2006]

Mine or Yours?
Dense forests and tribals caught in a forester-miner fight

J harkhand seems to be poised for a large-scale confrontation in response to 42 memorandums

of understanding worth some Rs 1,70,000 crore signed by the state government with various
iron and steel companies, including big names like the Mittals, Jindals and Essar. But this time
around there is a twist to the tale - it's not just the tribals who are opposing the projects but also
the state forest department (FD), with some young officials coming up with a proposal to
protect the forests of West Singhbhum district from the mining the proposed projects entail. For
the tribals who depend on this forest, this is not a welcome development - should the proposal
find takers they might find the forest out of bounds.
Three divisional forest officers (DFOS) - of Saranda, Kolhan and Porhat divisions- are
attempting to protect Saranda, home to Asia's largest sal (Shorea robusta) forest and an
important elephant habitat, which companies are eyeing for its large iron ore deposits. They've
sent a proposal to the state FD to declare the area a 'virgin forest'. "Since mining can take place

17
in virgin forests only after exploring possibilities in non-virgin areas, this is one way to protect
biodiversity and the variety of species in the area from destruction," says C P Khanduja, DFO,
Saranda, who drafted the proposal. The FD is vetting it before sending it to the government.
"The idea is to restrict mining in Saranda forest, or at least make it more difficult or
expensive to acquire land," says D Venkateshwarlu, Porhat DFO. Making leases more
expensive will have the benefit of forcing mining companies to rationalise extraction. As of
now, they don't. Because it is cheaper to abandon mines before they are fully mined - extraction
costs go up over time - and move to fresh land.
In the 85,000 hectares (ha) of the Saranda division, 28 leases for iron ore mining already
exist in about 9,300 ha. Now the mining department wants an additional. "What will be left of
the forest then?" asks Khanduja. Already, the last three years have seen an increase in mining.
Illegal mining in and around the forest is rampant.
Thousands of trucks jam the roads leading to the forest from Chaibasa past Nowamundi,
disturbing people and damaging ecology. The proposed scale of some projects is an indication
of things to come. The Mittals require some 8,000 ha. On the anvil is a steel plant with a
capacity of 12 million tonne and investment of Rs 40,000 crore. The Tatas want 4,800 ha. They
are planning a 5-million tonne plant and Rs 35-crore investment. The Jindals are plugging for
1,800 ha, with a 10-million tonne mill and Rs 11,500-crore investment.
The impact on forests is significant. According to the state of forest reports (SFRS),
between 1997 and 1999 about 3,200 ha of forest was lost in the Singhbhum region. Between
2001 and 2003, some 7,900 ha of dense forest were lost in East and West Singhbhum districts.
While the numbers are not high, the loss of dense forest is significant.
On the brink
Saranda too has been affected, but further degradation will have serious consequences for
its considerable biodiversity. The DFOS have identified 237 forest compartments out of the
total of 289, covering 64,000 ha, as being very compact dense forest areas still untouched by
mining. A survey by them showed that a patch of 40 by 40 metres has some 30 plant species.
Also, apart from elephants, the forests are home to the flying squirrel, four-horned antelope,
sloth bear, leopard and deer among other species. K Z Bhutia, the Kolhan DFO, reports having
seen many oriental white-back vultures - listed by the World Conservation Union as a highly
threatened species. "We want to save the forest from exploitation. Giving it the status of a
virgin forest will protect the areas from being used for commercial activities. This will, in turn,
protect elephants and other wildlife," says Bhutia.
In 2001, the district was declared an elephant reserve under the central government's
Project Elephant, but the number of elephants has gone down from 424 in 2002 to 375 in 2005.
"High iron ore content in the rivers makes the water unfit for drinking and the noise of trucks
carrying ore scares elephants away from Saranda, which is the core area," says Khanduja.
According to R K Singh, who did doctoral research in Saranda between 1993 and 1998:
"Mining, along with unmanaged tailing disposal into the river system is the biggest threat to
elephant conservation." The Manoharpur group of mines around Chiria transport their ore using
roads going through the forest, which is also the main elephant migration route from Saranda to
Kolhan. A narrow gauge railway track along this road, used to transport ore, will be converted
to broad gauge. The railways have sanctioned a Rs 190-crore project to transport more ore from
the Chiria mines.
As their habitat is increasingly disturbed, elephants go further afield in search of food.
Reports of human-elephant conflicts have increased in the Kolhan and Porhat divisions. Most

18
funds received under Project Elephant are spent on paying compensation for destruction of
crops by elephants.
The development bogey
The problem is that the issue has got caught in a development-conservation debate. But the
foresters point out that destroying forests is not the only option. "Our suggestion is that they
should explore iron ore available in other areas like Chaibasa south," says Khanduja.
The DFOS are also getting after existing leaseholders to keep to their commitment of
providing funds for development of villages around the mines. "While companies were
supposed to contribute five per cent of their investment in tribal area development, they have
not done so in the last 50 years. But now we have imposed a condition of contribution," says an
official.
The Jharkhand government, on its part, has decided to not allow private investors access to
the state's iron-ore reserves unless they set up steel plants in the state itself. "We have a
problem of unemployment here and because of that Naxalism is on the rise," says Jharkhand
mining secretary A K Singh. "We have to bring in industries to generate employment." But for
this, the government has to acquire land, exacerbating conflict. District commissioners have
been ordered to identify land for industries. But in many areas where surveys were attempted,
tribals chased away company and government officials.
Mining is the largest cause for land alienation in Jharkhand. Between 1951 to 1991, over
34 per cent of land acquired for development projects was for mining. This displaced about
seven per cent of Jharkhand's population, of this nearly half were tribals. Many were never
rehabilitated or left to the mercies of the steel and mining companies.
In Kiriburu, for instance, where the public sector Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has its
mines, deep pits scar the forests. In the nine villages that fall under Kiriburu panchayat, life is
bleak. Basant Lal, who became sarpanch in the last local body elections, has been writing to the
government pointing to the abject conditions of villagers despite the company promising jobs
and development. "Our people, mostly adivasis, get very little work in the mines. Mostly
people are brought in from outside," he says. It's the same in other villages.
Unsurprisingly, Naxalites have a strong presence here. While it has been alleged that local
groups take 'levies' from the mining companies, higher up in the command structure there is
opposition to mining. On December 20, 2005, the Bihar- Jharkhand special area committee of
the CPI (Maoist) sent out a press release opposing the proposed expansion of iron ore mining.
A section of the administration has also joined the tribal people in their fight against
mining: some openly, others tacitly. In Manoharpur, between the Saranda and Kolhan forest
divisions, tribal groups are preparing to resist land acquisition. Traditional tribal organisations
like the Ho Mahasabha are at the heart of the movement. The Jharkhand Mines' Area Co-
ordination Committee, a Ranchi-based organisation, is also leading a campaign against
acquisition of tribal land. Apprehending large-scale displacement of tribals by the proposed
Jindal Industries project at Potka in East Singhbhum, tribal organisations have formed an 11-
member committee to mobilise people against it.
The state is also mobilising. The struggle to protect tribal rights and oppose destructive
industries is being described as a "law and order" problem and could be suppressed by being
branded Naxal. Industrialists want protection and the government often obliges. Sushil Barla of
JOHAR, a Chaibasa-based human-rights organisation, says forces have been sent into Jaraikela,
Chota Nagda, Manoharpur and Goelkeda villages.
[Source: Down To Earth, January 15, 2006]

19
 The Hidden Subsidy
Mining helps industry, not people

L imestone, the main raw material in cement manufacturing, is obtained by large-scale open
cast mining. In India, this stage of the cement life-cycle is the industry's weakest link -
environmentally and otherwise. It brings conflicting interests to a head - on the one hand, the
need to extract minerals for growing economies and, on the other, the need to conserve
livelihoods of local communities dependent on local resources. The absence of tight regulation
and clear policy directives gives the industry an upper hand; local communities suffer because
their natural resource base is degraded.
India has abundant reserves of limestone - 149,145 hectares (ha) has been leased out for
mining limestone, according to Monograph on Limestone and Dolomite, published by the
Indian Bureau of Mines in 2003. The cement industry's limestone is mainly found in nine
states, which are home to many cement plants.
Lives and landscapes
One reason for the massive ecological impact of mining is the fact that it changes - often
irreversibly - the land-use patterns of an entire region. In developing countries, mining changes
both landscapes and lifestyles. Most mines are located on what used to be agricultural land:
almost 60 per cent of land leased by the large-scale plants is suitable for agriculture.
Taking agricultural land away for mining impacts on local economies hugely, causing
alienation from the environment and loss of livelihoods. Rehabilitation packages are usually
inadequate, which makes matters worse. In Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, where the
cement industry has grown rapidly, agricultural communities have had to move away from
traditional lifestyles. Ecologically, the impact has been disastrous, with land being converted
into quarries, thereby losing its fertility over the long haul.
Moreover, in India, much of what is designated wasteland is actually used by local
communities for a variety of activities - like grazing cattle. Thirty-seven per cent of the area
taken for mining in the GRP sample was earlier being used for grazing or marginal farming.
The maximum impact has been in Rajasthan, which has a large population dependent on
livestock, and where 88 per cent of land leased out to the cement industry falls under this
category.
For the cement industry, land-use patterns, and ecological and social factors are not siting
criteria, economic logic is. Forty-five per cent of plants are located in ecological sensitive areas
such as hilly terrain, or near forests and wildlife sanctuaries and within coastal regulation
zones.
In the early 1980s, rampant limestone mining in the Dehradun valley in Uttaranchal (then
Uttar Pradesh) sparked off huge protests. It was pointed out that one of the most important
functions of the limestone deposits was conservating rainwater. Decades of mining disturbed
the hydrological balance of the region. In 1986, the Supreme Court banned limestone mining in
the valley. All that happened was that mining shifted to Himachal Pradesh. The state has
welcomed cement manufacturers, assuring local communities that jobs will be created, but the
technology is a problem.

20
Inferno
Mining technology depends on factors such as hardness and compactness of deposits and
economics. In India, 88.7 per cent of limestone in the past five years was extracted by blasting.
Surface miners were used to mine just 8.5 per cent of the deposits. Just four plants use surface
miners - GACL-Gujarat unit, Madras Cement Ltd. Alathiyur Works, Sanghi Cement and
Gujarat Cement Works of the Ultratech group.
Using surface miners eliminates the problems commonly associated with blasting -
including noise pollution and damage to houses in the vicinity. Currently available surface
miners can only be used on soft deposits (having a compressive strength less than 600 kg/cm2).
But some plants continue to use blasting to mine soft limestone for instance, Jamul Cement
Works of the ACC group, Saurashtra Cement and Lafarge India's Sonadih unit. Gujarat Sidhee
Cement Limited (GSCL) got a surface miner only in 2004, though its plant has been on stream
since 1987. This happens because there is no regulatory pressure on the industry to switch to
eco-friendly technology. Industry prefers blasting because it costs Rs 36 per tonne of material
extracted, while surface mining costs Rs 47 per tonne.
When mining strikes the natural water table, the availability of water in the surrounding
areas decreases. For example, in New Surjana village near the Chanderia mines of Birla
Chittor, where the groundwater table has been breached, residents claim the water table had
dipped from 25 feet to 400-500 feet, and wells and tube-wells have dried up.
Currently, there are no regulations to prevent breaching. Fourteen plants - 39 per cent of
those rated by GRP – have say breaching of the water table is no problem. But the fact is
groundwater management is key to the future of India's ecology. Regular monitoring of ground
water levels within lease areas should be essential for mining. Currently, only 10 units monitor
groundwater levels. Industry will have to accept that breaching the water table and creating the
illusion that making pits are efforts at rainwater harvesting are not acceptable strategies. Proper
measures have to be taken to manage groundwater properly - through hydrological studies, by
identifying and recharging natural aquifers, and creating infrastructure for water supply to
nearby villages.
Poorly managed
Mining subsidises the cement industry - mine management is pathetic because little effort
or resources are spent on it or on reclamation. Less than half of the big cement plants have no
reclamation programmes. The lack of credible regulation allows the industry to get away with
this.
Programmes for topsoil and overburden (waste by-products) management, afforestation,
rain water harvesting or reducing siltation and runoff are at best half-hearted and most often
ineffectual. Take topsoil management. Though valuable ecologically, it has no immediate
economic value. Predictably, it is poorly managed. Though more than half of the topsoil
excavated is supposedly stored for future reclamation efforts, only 8.7 per cent of plants have
planted vegetation on topsoil dumps to reduce runoff and 35 per cent have constructed good
bunds or culverts around them. Afforestation has also been neglected. Mine lease areas are,
however, barren.
Reclamation doesn't really happen. Whatever reclamation happens is skewed. Most plants
are going to reclaim parts of exhausted land – 77 per cent - by creating reservoirs. Plantations
will take up just 22.6 per cent. There are no reclamation plans for agriculture.
[Source: Down To Earth, December 31, 2005]

21
 Government Circulars
F. No.7 -19/2004-FC
Government of India,
Ministry of Environment and Forests (FC Division)
I.
Paryavaran Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,
Lodi Road, New Delhi -110 003
Dated: 22-09-2005
To
1. The Principal Secretary (Forests) All States/UTs.
2. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, All States/UTs.

Sub: Supreme Court order dated 16-09-2005 in IA No.1 000 in Writ Petition (C) No. 202
of 1995 - Jamwa Ramgarh Sanctuary matter.
Sir,
Please find enclosed herewith a copy of the above-mentioned order of the Supreme Court,
which reads as follows:
" ……...we again reiterate that without compliance of the environmental laws, in particular
the permission under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, no Temporary Working Permission or
Temporary Permit or any other permission by whatever name called shall be granted for mining
activities in the aforesaid areas (National Parks, Sanctuaries and forest area). We further direct
that no mining activity would continue under any Temporary Working Permit or Permission
which may have been granted. . . . . . . . ."
In compliance with the aforesaid order, the Central Government hereby, directs you to
stop all mining operations in forest areas which are running on the strength of Temporary
Working Permission(TWP) granted by this Ministry, with immediate effect till further orders.
Only those mines shall be allowed to operate who have got clearances under Forest
(Conservation) Act, 1989, and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and have complied with
the conditions stipulated by the Central Government. Further, in continuation of this Ministry's
letters No.11-9/98-FC dated: 04-05-2001 and 24-11-2003 and aforesaid order of the Apex
Court, it is reiterated that all mining operations in National Parks and Sanctuaries shall continue
to remain suspended.
Encl: Order as above.
Sd/-
(ANURAG BAJPAI)
Asstt. Inspector General of Forests
Copy to:
1. Secretary, Ministry of Coal and Mines, Government of India, New Delhi.
2. Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of India, New Delhi.
3. Joint Secretary (CM), IA Division, Ministry of Environment and Forests.
4. All Regional Offices of Ministry of Environment and Forests.
5. Nodal Officers (FC), All States/UTs.
6. Director (FC)/ AIGs (FC)
7. Shri A.D.N. Rao, Advocate, Supreme Court.
8. PPS to Secretary (E&F) for information.
9. Monitoring Cell to place it on website.
10. Guard file.

22
 (To be published in the Gazette of India, Part-II, Section3, Sub-section(ii)
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS
II.
New Delhi, the 15th September 2005
S. O. 1324(E) The following draft notification which the Central Government proposes to issue, in exercise of the
powers conferred by sub-section (1) and clause (v) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection)
Act, 1986 (29 of 1986) for imposing certain restrictions and prohibitions on the undertaking of some projects or
activities or the expansion or modernization of such existing projects or activities entailing capacity addition, in any
part of India' , in supperssion of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification requiring prior environmental
clearance on certain projects or activities (number S.O. 60 (E) dated the 27'h January, 1994) is hereby published, as
required under sub-rule (3) of rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, for the information of the public
likely to be affected thereby and notice is hereby given that the said draft notification will be taken into consideration
by the Central Government on or after the expiry of sixty days from the date of publication of said notification in the
Official Gazette; (Includes the territorial waters of India and the Exclusive Economic Zone)
Any person interested in making any objections or suggestions on the proposals contained in the draft
notification may do so in writing within the period so specified through post to the Secretary, Ministry of Environment
and Forests, Paryavaran Bhawan, CGO complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi - 110003, or electronically at e-mail
address: secy [email protected]
1. Draft Notification
Whereas by notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment and Forests number S.O. 60
(E), dated 27th January 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the said notification), the Central Government imposed
certain restrictions and prohibitions on the expansion or modernization of any activity or new projects, listed in
Schedule I to the said notification unless prior Environmental Clearance (EC) has been accorded by the Central
Government or the State Government in accordance with the procedure specified in the said notification;
And whereas, the said notification has succeeded in realizing necessary environmental safeguards by
assessing the environmental impacts due to the proposed projects or activities that require prior environmental
clearance at the planning stage itself through a transparent process involving consultations with public and relevant
experts;
And whereas, the Central Government has reviewed the existing restrictions imposed on undertaking projects
or activities and the procedures and practices of environmental clearance to include only projects and activities with
significant environmental impacts, and also to identify problems, constraints and measures required to be addressed
for making the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and prior environmental clearance processes more
transparent, efficient, and effective;
And whereas, as a result of the review a revised list of projects and activities which would require prior
Environmental Clearance and a revised Environmental Clearance process has been formulated by the Central
Government after consultations with various stakeholders including Central Ministries, State Governments or the
Union Territory Administrations, Industry Associations, Institutions and Voluntary Organizations;
And whereas, the Central Government considers, it is necessary in the public interest to impose certain
restrictions and prohibitions on new projects or activities, or on the expansion or modernization of existing projects or
activities, as indicated in the Schedule to this notification, being undertaken in any part of India, unless prior
environmental clearance has been accorded in accordance with the procedure specified in this notification, by the
Central Government or the State or Union Territory level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), to be
constituted by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government or the Union Territory
Administration concerned under section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, for the purpose of this
notification;
Now, therefore, the following draft notification which the Central Government proposes to issue in exercise of
the powers conferred by sub-section (1) and clause (v) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986, read with clause (d) of sub-rule (3) of rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 and

23
in supersession of the notification number S.O. 60 (E) dated the 27'h January, 1994, except in respect of things
done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby publishes this draft
notification as required under sub rule (3) of rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, which shall on and
from the date of its final publication require new projects or activities or the expansion or modernization of existing
projects or activities entailing capacity addition listed in the Schedule to this notification, to be undertaken in any part
of India only after the same has been accorded prior environmental clearance by the Central Government or the
State level Environment Impact Assessment Authority concerned, as the case may be in accordance with the
requirements and procedure specified hereinafter in this notification.
2. Requirements of prior Environmental Clearance (EC):
The following projects or activities shall require prior environmental clearance from the concerned regulatory
authority ,which shall hereinafter refer to the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment and Forests for
matters falling under Category 'A' in the Schedule and at State level the State Environment Impact Assessment
Authority (SEIAA)2 ,for matters falling under Category'S' in the said Schedule, before any construction work, or
preparation of land by the project management, is started on the project or activity: (2 In case of coastal States or the
Union territories, the seaward jurisdiction of the SEIAA concerned will extend to a distance of 04 nautical miles
measured from the low-tide line)
(i) All new projects or activities listed in the Schedule to this notification;
(ii) Expansion and modernization of existing projects or activities listed in the Schedule to this notification with
addition of capacity beyond the limits specified for the concerned sector, that is, projects or activities which
cross the threshold limits given in the Schedule, after expansion or modernization;
(iii) Any change in product mix in an existing manufacturing unit included in Schedule beyond the specified range.
3. Categorization of projects and activities:
(i) All projects or activities included as Category 'A' in the Schedule, including expansion and modernization of
existing projects or activities and change in product mix, shall require prior environmental clearance from the
Central Government in the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on the recommendations of an Expert
Appraisal Committee (EAC) to be constituted by the Central Government for the purposes of this notification;
(ii) All projects or activities included as Category 's' in the Schedule, including expansion and modernization of
existing projects or activities as specified in sub paragraph (ii) of paragraph 2, or change in product mix. as
specified in sub paragraph (iii) of paragraph 2, but excluding those which fulfill the General Conditions (GC)
stipulated in the Schedule, will require prior environmental clearance from the State/Union Territory
Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). The SEIAA will base its decision on the recommendations
of a State/Union Territory level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) to be constituted by the State
Government /Union Territory Administration concerned, as provided for in this notification;
(iii) All projects or activities included as Category' A/S' in the Schedule, including Category 'A/S' projects or
activities which fulfill the General Conditions (GC) stipulated in the Schedule, will be screened by the Expert
Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment and Forests and re-
categorized as either Category 'A' or Category 'S' based on their potential for adverse third party
environmental impacts in their specific location, and prior environmental clearance may be granted by the
concerned regulatory authority as indicated in sub paragraphs (i) and (ii) above.
4. Screening, Scoping and Appraisal Committees:
The same Expert Appraisal Committees (EACs) at the Central Government and SEACs at the State or the
Union Territory level shall screen, scope and appraise projects or activities in Category' A' and Category 'S'
respectively.
(a) The composition of the EAC at the level of the Central Government is given in Appendix VI. The SEACs at the
State or the Union Territory level shall be constituted by the Central Government in consultation with the
concerned State Government or the Union Territory Administration with identical composition,

24
(b) The Central Government may, with the prior concurrence of the concerned State Governments or the Union
Territory Administrations, constitute a SEAC for more than one State or the Union Territory for reasons of
administrative efficiency and cost.
(c) The EAC and SEAC shall be constituted for period of three years.
(d) The authorised members of the EAC and SEAC, concerned, may inspect any site(s) connected with the
project or activity in respect of which the prior environmental clearance is sought, for the purposes of
screening or scoping or appraisal, with prior notice of at least seven "days to the applicant, who shall provide
necessary facilities for the inspection.
(e) The EAC and SEACs shall function on the principle of collective responsibility. The Chairperson shall
endeavour to reach a consensus in each case, and if consensus cannot be reached, the view of the majority
shall prevail.
(f) In the absence of a duly constituted State or the Union Territory level SEAC, the concerned SEIAA may refer
an application for a project or activity in Category's' to the Central Government with a request for conduct of
screening, scoping and appraisal by the EAC. In such cases, the EAC will send its recommendations directly
to the SEIAA concerned. The final decision on such application shall remain with the SEIAA concerned.
5. Application for Prior Environmental Clearance (EC):
An application seeking prior environmental clearance in all cases shall be made in the prescribed Form 1, as
given in Appendix I, and Supplementary Form 1 A, if applicable, as given in Appendix II, after the identification of
prospective site(s) for the project and/or activities to which the application relates, before commencing any
construction activity, or preparation of land, at the site by the applicant. The applicant shall furnish, along with the
application, a copy of the pre- feasibility project report in the case of greenfield projects, and expansion and
modernization of existing projects and/or activities, except that, in case of construction projects or activities (Item 8
of the Schedule) in addition to Form 1 and the Supplementary Form 1 A, a copy of the conceptual plan shall be
provided, instead of the pre-feasibility report.
6. Stages in the Prior Environmental Clearance (EC) Process:
The environmental clearance process will comprise of a maximum of four stages, all of which may not apply to
particular cases as set forth below in this notification. These four stages in sequential order are:
• Stage 1 : Screening (except for Category 'A' projects .", and activities)
• Stage 2:Scoping
• Stage 3: Public Consultation
• Stage 4: Appraisal.
Stage 1 : Screening:
(i) "Screening" refers to the definite assignment of environmental Category to projects or activities in respect of
which an application is made for prior Environmental Clearance, where the same is not completely specified in
the Schedule.
(ii) In case of Category 'A' 'I' 'S' projects or activities, this stage will entail the scrutiny of an application seeking
prior environmental clearance made in Form 1, by the Expert Appraisal Committee in the Central Government
for categorizing the project or activity as either Category 'A' or Category 'S' depending upon the anticipated
potential for adverse third party environmental impacts of the concerned project or activity. In order to consider
the views of the State Government or the Union Territory Administration concerned on the project, a
representative of the State Government or the Union Territory Administration shall be an invitee to the Expert
Appraisal Committee meeting in all cases of Screening of Category 'A'I'S' projects or activities.
(iii) In case of Category 'S' projects or activities, this stage will entail the scrutiny of an application seeking prior
environmental clearance made in Form 1 by the concerned State level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC)
for determining whether or not the project or activity requires further environmental studies for preparation of
an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for its appraisal prior to the grant of environmental clearance. The
projects requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment report shall be termed Category 'B1' and remaining
projects shall be termed Category 'B2' and will not require an EIA report.

25
(iv) In case of an application for prior environmental clearance for expansion and/or modernization and/or for
change in the product mix of an existing project or activity, the same shall be screened by the Expert Appraisal
Committee or the State level Expert Appraisal Committee concerned, depending upon the category of the
project or activity resulting from the proposed expansion and/or modernization and/or change in the product
mix, as for a greenfield project of the same category.
Stage 2: Scoping:
(i) "Scoping": refers to the process by which the Expert Appraisal Committee in the case of Category 'A' projects
or activities, and State level Expert Appraisal Committee in the case of Category 'B1' projects or activities,
including screened applications for expansion and/or modernization and/or change in product mix of existing
projects or activities, determine detailed and comprehensive Terms Of Reference (TOR) addressing all
relevant environmental concerns for the preparation of an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Report in
respect of the project or activity for which prior environmental clearance is sought. The Expert Appraisal
Committee or State level Expert Appraisal Committee concerned shall determine the TOR on the basis of
Form I, and if considered necessary by the EAC or SEAC concerned, a site visit by the relevant member(s) of
the EAC or SEAC concerned, and other information that may be available with the EAC or SEAC concerned,
in the prescribed format given in Appendix II. All projects and activities listed as Category 'B' in Item 8 of the
Schedule (Construction) shall not require Scoping3.
(ii) The Terms of Reference (TOR) shall be conveyed to the applicant by the EAC or SEAC as concerned within
sixty days of the receipt of Form 1 . The TOR shall also be displayed on the website of the Ministry of
Environment and Forests and the concerned SEIAA. Applications for prior environmental clearance may be
rejected by the regulatory authority concerned on the recommendation of the EAC or SEAC concerned at this
stage itself4. In case of such rejection, the decision, together with reasons for the same shall be communicated
to the applicant in writing within sixty days of the receipt of the application. (3 In other words, they will be
appraised on the basis of Form 1 and Form 1 A, and the conceptual plan. 4The consideration of the application
for prior EC must be in accordance with the Objectives and Principles of the National Environment Policy.
Reasons outside these Objectives and Principles are not to constitute a ground for acceptance or rejection of
the application)
Stage 3: Public Consultation:
(i) "Public Consultation" refers to the process by which the concerns of local people and
other concerned persons with respect to the potential adverse environmental impacts of the
proposed project or activity are ascertained with a view to addressing the material concerns in
the EIA and the Environment Management Plan (EMP). All Category 'A' and Category B1
projects or activities shall undertake Public Consultation5, except the following: (5 The Public
Consultation is intended to ascertain, with a view to taking into account in the project/activity
design as appropriate, the concerns of the local affected persons, and others who have a
plausible stake in the environmental impacts of the project/activity)
(a) Modernization of irrigation projects (Item 1 (c) (ii) of the Schedule).
(b) All projects or activities located within industrial estates or parks (Item 7(c) of the Schedule) approved by
the concerned authorities, and which are not disallowed in such approvals.
(c) Expansion of Roads and Highways (Item 7 (f) of the Schedule) which do not involve any further
acquisition of land.
(d) Construction projects with built up area less than 1,00,000 (1 lakh) square metres (Category 'B' of Item 8
(a) of the Schedule).
(e) All Category 'B2' projects and activities.
(f) All projects or activities concerning national defence and security as determined by the Central
Government.
(ii) The Public Consultation shall ordinarily have two components comprising of:
(a) Public Hearing at the site or in its close proximity, district wise, for ascertaining the
concerns of the local persons who have a plausible material stake in the environmental impacts of the
project. The Public Hearing shall be carried out in the manner prescribed in Appendix IV.

26
 (b) Responses by concerned persons in writing from other concerned persons having a plausible stake in
the environmental aspects of the project or activity. The responses by the concerned persons shall be
carried out in the following manner:
(i) The regulatory authority concerned, shall invite responses by concerned persons through their
websites by placing on their website the summary EIA report in the format given in Appendix III A
prepared by the applicant within seven days of the receipt of a written request to the effect from
the applicant, together with the summary EIA report, and the draft EIA report for a period of sixty
days. The regulatory authority concerned may also use other appropriate media for ensuring wide
publicity about the project or activity. The draft EIA report shall be made available by the regulatory
authority concerned promptly to persons who request the same in writing within the period of sixty
days. The regulatory authority concerned shall send copies of all the responses received to the
applicant within seven days of expiry of the said period for receipt of responses from concerned
persons.
(ii) The Public Hearing at, or in close proximity to, the site(s) in all cases shall be conducted by the
State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or the Union Territory Pollution Control Committee (UTPCC)
concerned in the specified manner within sixty days of receipt of a request to the effect from the
applicant. It shall send the proceedings of the public hearing within fifteen days thereafter directly
to the applicant, the EAC or the SEAC concerned, and the regulatory authority concerned.
(iii) In case the State Pollution Control Board or the Union Territory Pollution Control Committee
concerned does not undertake the public hearing within the specified period, and/or does not
convey the proceedings of the public hearing within the prescribed period directly to the applicant,
the EAC or SEAC concerned, and the regulatory authority concerned, the regulatory authority shall
engage another public agency or authority which is not subordinate to the regulatory authority, to
complete the process within a further period of forty five days, including communication of the
proceedings of the public hearing, directly to the applicant, the EAC or SEAC concerned, and the
regulatory authority concerned.
(iv) If the public agency or authority nominated under the sub paragraphs (ii) and
(iii) Above reports to the regulatory authority concerned that owing to the local situation, it is not possible to
conduct the public hearing in a manner which will enable the views of the concerned local persons to be freely
expressed, it shall report the facts in detail to the concerned regulatory authority, which may, after due
consideration of the report and other reliable information that it may have, decide that the public consultation in
the case need not include the public hearing.
(iv) After completion of the public consultation, the applicant shall address all the material environmental concerns
expressed in the process of public consultation, and make appropriate changes in the draft EIA and EMP. The
final EIA report, so prepared, shall be submitted by the applicant to the concerned regulatory authority for
appraisal.
Stage 4: Appraisal:
(i) "Appraisal" means the detailed scrutiny of the application and the EIA report
submitted by the applicant to the regulatory authority concerned, by the EAC or SEAC
concerned. The appraisal shall be made by EAC or SEAC concerned in proceedings at which
the applicant, at his option, may be heard in person or through his authorized representative.
On conclusion of these proceedings, the EAC or SEAC concerned shall make categorical
recommendations to the regulatory authority concerned either for grant of prior
environmental clearance on stipulated terms and conditions, or rejection of the application for
prior environmental clearance, together with reasons for the same.
(ii) The appraisal of all projects or activities which are not required to undergo public consultation, or submit an
EIA report, shall be carried out on the basis of Forms 1 or 1 A as applicable, visit to the site(s) of the project or
activity by the relevant member(s) of the EAC or SEAC concerned as duly authorized by the EAC or SEAC
concerned, and other relevant information which is available to the EAC or SEAC concerned.

27
(iii) The appraisal shall be strictly in terms of the TOR finalized at the scoping stage and the concerns expressed
during public consultation, and shall be completed within sixty days of the receipt of the EIA report where
required, and otherwise the application in Form 1 or 1 A. The procedure for appraisal is given in Appendix V.
7. Grant or Rejection of Prior Environmental Clearance (EC):
(i) The regulatory authority shall consider the recommendations of the EAC or SEAC concerned and convey its
decision to the applicant within one hundred and twenty days of the receipt of the final EIA Report, and where
EIA is not required, within one hundred and twenty days of the receipt of the complete application with relevant
specified documents, except as provided below.
(ii) The regulatory authority shall normally accept the recommendations of the EAC or SEAC concerned. In cases
where it disagrees with the recommendations of the EAC or SEAC concerned, the regulatory authority shall
request reconsideration by the EAC or SEAC concerned within sixty days of the receipt of the
recommendations of the EAC or SEAC concerned, together with its reasons for the disagreement, under
intimation to the applicant. The EAC or SEAC concerned, in turn, shall consider the observations of the
regulatory authority and furnish its views on the same within a further period of sixty days. The decision of the
regulatory authority after considering the views of the EAC or SEAC concerned shall be final arid conveyed to
the applicant by the regulatory authority concerned within thirty days of receipt of these views of the EAC or
SEAC concerned.
(iii) In the event that the decision of the regulatory authority is not communicated to the Applicant within the period
specified in sub-paragraphs (i) or (ii) above, as applicable, the applicant may proceed as if the environment
clearance sought for has been granted or denied by the regulatory authority in terms of the final
recommendations of the EAC or SEAC concerned.
(iv) On expiry of the period specified for decision by the regulatory authority under paragraph (i) and (ii) above, as
applicable, the decision of the regulatory authority, and the final recommendations of the EAC or SEAC
concerned shall be public documents.
(v) Clearances from other regulatory bodies or authorities shall not be required prior to receipt of applications for
prior environmental clearance of projects or activities, or screening, or scoping, or appraisal, or decision by the
regulatory authority concerned, unless any of these is sequentially dependent on such clearance either due to
a requirement of law, or for necessary technical reasons.
(vi) Deliberate concealment or submission of false or misleading information or data which is material to screening
or scoping or appraisal or decision on the application shall make the application liable for rejection, and
cancellation of prior environmental clearance granted on that basis. Rejection of an application or cancellation
of a prior environmental clearance already granted, on such ground, may be decided by the regulatory
authority, after giving a personal hearing to the applicant, and following the principles of natural justice.
8. Validity of Environmental Clearance (EC):
By "Validity of Environmental Clearance" is meant the period from which a prior environmental clearance is
granted by the regulatory authority, or may be presumed by the applicant to have been granted under sub paragraph
(iv) of paragraph 7 above, to the start of production operations by the project or activity, or completion of all
construction operations in case of construction projects {Item 8 of the Schedule}6, to which the application for prior
environmental clearance refers. The prior environmental clearance granted for a project or activity shall be valid for a
period of ten years in the case of River Valley projects {Item 1 {c} of the Schedule} and five years in the case of all
other projects and activities. This period of validity may be extended by the regulatory authority concerned by a
maximum period of five years provided an application is made to the regulatory authority by the applicant within the
validity period, together with an updated Form 1, and Supplementary Form 1 A, for Construction projects or activities
(Item 8 of the Schedule). In this regard the regulatory authority may also consult the EAC or SEAC as the case may
be. No extension for the validity period shall be granted beyond a total of fifteen years in the case of River Valley
projects and a total of ten years in the case of all other projects and activities. (6 the period of validity does not refer
to any requirement of renewal of obtaining a fresh environmental clearance during the operational lifetime of a
project or activity).
9. Post Environmental Clearance Monitoring:

28
(i) It shall be mandatory for the project management to submit half-yearly compliance reports in respect of the
stipulated prior environmental clearance terms and conditions in hard and soft copies to the regulatory
authority concerned, on 1st June and 1st December of each calendar year.
(ii) All such compliance reports submitted by the project management shall be public documents. Copies of the
same shall be given to any person on application to the concerned regulatory authority. The latest such
compliance report shall also be displayed on the web site of the concerned regulatory authority.
10. Transferability of Environmental Clearance (EC):
A prior environmental clearance granted for a specific project or activity to an applicant may be transferred
during its validity to another legal person entitled to undertake the project or activity on application by the transferor,
or by the transferee with a written "no objection" by the transferor, to, and by the regulatory authority concerned, on
the same terms and conditions under which the prior environmental clearance was initially granted, and for the same
validity period. No reference to the EAC or SEAC concerned is necessary in such cases.
11. Operation of EIA Notification, till disposal of pending cases:
From the date of final publication of this notification the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification
number S.O.60(E) dated 27th January, 1994 as amended from time to time, shall stand superceded, except to the
extent that in case of all or some types of applications made for prior environmental clearance and pending on the
date of final publication of this notification, the Central Government may relax anyone or all provisions of this
notification, or continue operation of some or all provisions of the said notification for a period not exceeding one
year from the date of issue of the aforesaid notification.
[No. J-11 013/56/2004-IA-11 (I)]
(R.CHANDRAMOHAN)
JOINT SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

SCHEDULE
LIST OF PROJECTS OR ACTIVITIES REQUIRING PRIOR
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE
Sl. Project or Activity NIC code ISIC Category Conditions if
No. (2004) Code A A/B B any
1. Mining, extraction of natural resources and power generation (for a specific
production capacity)
(a) Mining of minerals 101 > 50 ha. of mining <50 ha. > < 15 ha. > ha. of General
excluding leases area 15 ha. of mining lease area Condition
10103, 102 mining (GC-1)
excluding lease area
10203, 120,
131, 132,
141, 142
(b) Offshore and onshore oil 1110, 1120 All projects -- -- --
and gas exploration,
development &
production
(c) River Valley projects 40101, (i) > 20 MW -- (i) < 20 MW GC-1
45205, hydroelectric power hydroelectric power
45206 generation; generation;
(ii) > 10,000 ha. of (ii) 10,000 ha. of
culturable command culturable command
area area
(d) Thermal Power Plants 40102, > 500 MW (coal & gas -- < 500 MW (coal & gas GC-1
40103, based); based);
45207 > 50 MW (diesel > 50 MW (diesel
based) based)
(e) Nuclear power projects 40104, All projects -- --
and processing of 45207,
nuclear fuel 23300
2. Primary Processing

29
 (a) Coal washeries 10103, > 1 million ton/ annum -- < 1 million ton/ annum GC-1
10203 throughput of coal throughput of coal
(b) Mineral beneficiation > 0.1 million ton/ < 0.1 million ton/ GC-1
annum mineral annum mineral
throughput throughput
3. Materials Production
(a) Primary metallurgical 271 All projects -- -- --
industries (ferrous & non excluding
ferrous) 27120, 272
(b) Sponge iron industry 27120 -- -- All projects GC-1
(c) Cement Plants 26941, > 1.0 million tonnes/ -- <1.0 million tonnes/ GC-1
26942, annum production annum production
26949 capacity capacity
(d) Manufacture of lead acid All projects -- -- --
batteries
4. Minerals Processing
(a) Petroleum refining 2320 All projects -- - --
industry
(b) Coke oven plants 231 All projects -- -- --
(c)
(d) Chlor-alkali industry, 24117* >100 TPD production -- < production capacity GC-1
Soda ash industry capacity or located out or located out side the
side the notified notified industrial (No new
industrial area/estate area/estate Mercury Cell
based plants
will be
permitted and
existing units
converting to
membrance
cell technology
are exempted
from this
Notification)
Specific
condition (SC)
(No new unit
and expansion
of an existing
unit will be
permitted
outside a
notified
industrial
area/estate
(e) Leather/skin/’ hide 1911 -- Located within a
processing industry excluding notified industrial
19116 area/ estate
5. Manufacturing/ Fabrication
(a) Chemical fertilizers 2412 All projects -- -- --
(b) Pesticides & 2421* All projects -- -- --
pesticides
intermediates
(excluding
formulations)

30
(c) Petro-chemical All projects -- -- --
complexes
(industries based on
processing of
petroleum factions
& natural gas and/
ore forming to
aromatics)
(d) Manmade fibres 2430 Rayon -- Others GC-1
manufacturing
(e) Petrochemical Located out side Located in a GC-1
based processing the notified notified industrial
(processes other industrial area/ area/ estate
than cracking & estate
reformation and not
covered under the
complexes)
(f) Synthetic organic 2411 Located out side Located in a SC
chemicals industry excluding the notified notified industrial
(dyes & dye 24117* industrial area/ area/ estate
intermediates; 2423 estate
synthetic rubbers; excluding
basic organic 24236*,
chemicals) 2413
(g) Distilleries 1551 i) All Molasses All Cane juice/ GC-1
based distilleries. non molasses
ii) All Cane juice/ based distilleries
non molasses < 30 KLD
based distilleries
> 30 KLD
(h) Integrated paint 24222 -- -- All projects GC-1
industry
(i) Pulp & paper 2101 Pulp -- (Paper GC-1
industry manufacturing manufacturing
and pulp & paper industry without
manufacturing pulp
industry manufacturing)
(i) Sugar Industry 1542 -- > 2500 tcd cane GC-1
excluding crushing capacity
(gur &
boora)
15422&23,
15426&27
(k) Induction/ arc -- - All projects GC-1 & SC
furnace
(l) Automobile 3410 -- All --
manufacturing units projects
(Scooters,
Motorcycles, Cars,
trucks and other
heavy duty vehicles)
[Source: Mining Engineers Journal, December 2005 & January 2006]

31
 To be continued in the next issue

32
 Some Important Statistics related to Coal Mining

Coal Reserves of India( 247.85 Billion Tonnes as on 1.1.2005)

State Coal Resources in Million Tonnes
Proved Inferred Total
Indicated
Andhra Pradesh 8263 6079 2584 16926
Arunachal Pradesh 31 40 19 90
Assam 279 27 34 340
Bihar 0 0 160 160
Chhattisgarh 9373 26191 4411 39975
Jharkhand 35417 30439 6348 72204
Madhya Pradesh 7513 8815 2904 19232
Maharashtra 4653 2309 1620 8582
Meghalaya 117 41 301 459
Nagaland 4 1 15 20
Orissa 15161 30976 14847 60984
Uttar Pradesh 766 296 0 1062
West Bengal 11383 11876 4554 27813
Total 92960 117090 37797 247847

[Source: http://www.coal.nic.in]

Type-wise and Category-wise Coal Resources of India (as on 1.1.2005)

(in Million Tonnes)
Type of Coal Proved Indicated Inferred Total
(A) Coking
-Prime Coking 4614 699 5313
-Medium Coking 11417 11765 1889 25071
-Semi-Coking 482 1003 222 1707
Sub-Total: Coking 16513 13467 2111 32091
(B) Non-Coking* 76447 103623 35686 215756
Total (Coking & 92960 117090 37797 247847
Non-Coking)
* Including all coals of North Eastern Region. [Source: http://www.coal.nic.in]

Accident Statistics of CIL in the Year 2005 (upto Sept.)

33
 Year Fatal Accidents Serious Fatality Rate Serious Injury
Accidents
Acci- Fata- Acci- Inju- Per Per 3 Per Per
dents lities dents ries M.T. Lakh M.T. 3 Lakh
Manshifts Manshifts

1975 177 233 1456 1515 2.62 0.52 17.03 3.41

2002 62 69 375 397 0.24 0.19 1.37 1.09

2003 56 60 339 354 0.20 0.17 1.18 1.00

2004 66 70 384 396 0.22 0.20 1.23 1.12

2005 49 65 262 271 0.21 0.20 1.10 1.05

(upto Sept)
[http://www.coal.nic.in]

Coal Production in India

(in million tonnes)
Year Coking Non-Coking Total

1999-2000 33.25 266.72 299.97

2000-2001 30.90 278.73 309.63

2001-2002 28.67 293.97 322.64

2002-2003 30.49 306.30 336.87

2003-2004 29.40 326.32 355.72

2004-2005 30.22 352.40 382.62

(figures excluding Meghalaya) [Source: http://www.coal.nic.in]

34
 Company-wise Coal Production during Last Five Years

Company 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06

(April-
Nov, 05)
ECL 28.03 28.55 27.18 28.00 27.25 17.46
BCCL 25.97 25.25 24.15 22.70 22.31 13.45
CCL 31.75 33.81 36.98 37.33 37.39 22.66
NCL 41.40 42.46 45.10 47.03 49.95 32.04
WCL 35.20 37.01 37.82 39.53 41.41 26.56
SECL 60.33 64.12 66.60 71.01 78.55 52.18
MCL 44.80 47.81 52.23 60.05 66.08 44.07
NEC 0.66 0.64 0.63 0.73 0.63 0.49
Total CIL 268.14 279.65 290.69 306.38 323.58 208.91
SCCL 30.27 30.81 33.24 33.85 35.30 20.93
Captive 11.22 12.18 12.94 15.49 23.74 16.17
Collieries
Grand 309.63 322.64 336.87 355.72 382.62 246.01
Total
Do not include Meghalaya Coal [Source: http://www.coal.nic.in]

Working Results of Coal India Ltd. For the last Three Years-Company-wise position with
regard to profit (+) earned or loss (-) incurred during the last three years is as under :-

(Rs. in crores)
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
Company
(Provisional)
ECL - 338.78 -326.38 -15.51
BCCL - 507.13 -569.85 -248.03
CCL 384.65 370.38 900.42
NCL 1293.01 1647.06 2020.39
WCL 472.52 743.60 1071.86
SECL 882.13 1314.22 1573.80
MCL 882.31 1418.60 1581.23
CMPDIL 1.99 1.76
- 58.62
NEC/CIL 280.08 1355.97
Sub Total 3350.78 5955.36 6825.54
Less dividend from (-)485.28 (-) 1066.20 --
subsidiaries
TOTAL: CIL 2865.50 4889.16 --
(Source: http://www.coal.nic.in)

35
 CURRENT NEWS

SC directs KIOCL to stop Mining Operations

The Supreme Court has again directed the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) to
shut down mining activities by 31.12.200,5. The order has however asked to submit mine
closure plan in Jan 2006. KIOCL has prepared a closure plan which calls for further mining
(breaking of 54 Ha. of unbroken area) to ensure slope stability. The plan has been approved by
the Indian Bureau of Mines and has been submitted to the ministry of environment and forests.
The court which gave a date for hearing in September 2006 end, instead has directed the
company to first shut down its mining operations according to the original judgment. Optimists
hope that the January 2006 hearing on closure plans would permit slope stability.
[Source: Mining Engineers’ Journal, January 2006]

SC dismisses KIOCL Closure Plan

The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking review of the judgment directing the
closure of Kudremukh Iron Ore Mines by 31.12.2005, rendering around 2500 workmen jobless.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Y.K.Sabharwal, Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice
S.H.Kapadia declined to entertain the review petition filed by the Kudremukh Shram Shakti
Sangathan against the verdict directing closure of the mines.
[Source: Mining Engineers’ Journal, January 2006]

Govt. should take steps not to close down KIOCL

Mangalore, December 31, 2005: Communist Party of India (CPI) today demanded that all
efforts should be made by the government for the revival of mining operations by the profit
making Public Sector Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL), which was forced to
stop its mining operations from mid-night today following the Supreme Court order. CPI
Karnataka Secretary Dr Siddanagowda Patil, addressing a press conference here, strongly felt
that the profit making KIOCL should be allowed to continue the mining operations at the
existing site at Kudremukh in the best interest of the more than 10,000 people employed.
KIOCL, being a 100 per cent export oriented has been earning huge revenue in foreign
exchange, he said adding that however, the party was not in favour of granting mining
permission in other market areas of Kudremukh such as Gangadikal. He also criticised that all
claims made by the environmentalist's groups and other NGOs regarding the increase in
pollution and accumulation of silt in Lakhya Dam and Lakkavalli Dam due to the flow of iron
Ore silt was totally "unfound and baseless", even silt was accumulating in dams like Almatti
and Narayanapura dams which was common and the government should need to take steps
regular removal of accumulated silt. Mr Patil also pointed that the actual danger posed to the
western ghat was not due to the mining operations by the KIOCL but due to the larger scale
encroachment of government, forest land by the big land holders. He also alleged that these
same groups have also not so far raised their voice against the private mining operations at
Sandur and Hospet, which were owned by people in power.
[Source: http://news.webindia123.com]

36
Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) faults Centre, K'taka Govt for
Kudremukh Issue
Mangalore, December 30, 2005: The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) today
alleged that the failure on the part on both the Union and State Governments in bringing in
amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and Forest Conservation Act, 1980, was
responsible for the closure of mining operations in the public sector Kudremukh Iron Ore
Company Limited (KIOCL). Addressing a press conference here, DYFI State President K N
Umesh urged the Centre to bring in amendments to the Acts soon to safeguard the interests of
thousands of employees and their family members. Stating that the closure of mining activities
following a Supreme Court order would incur a loss of crores of Rupees to the country's
exchequer and the company, he faulted the State Government for failing to argue the case
properly before the Apex Court.
[Source: http://news.webindia123.com]

A new dawn over Kudremukh: Value for Money

New Delhi, December 28, 2005: As the sun goes down on 2005, there will be cause for both
rejoicing and depression over Kudremukh. The depression will mainly be among the 2,500-odd
employees of Kudremukh Iron Ore Company, who see their future threatened by the Supreme
Court’s refusal to budge from its decision that mining should stop in the Kudremukh National
Park by the end of the year. The rejoicing will be among much more spread-out groups like
farmers in Karnataka who live by the Bhadra river and many in India and around the world who
feel preserving the environment and wildlife should be among mankind’s key concerns. The
battle to save the Kudremukh area of the Western Ghats, one of the globally identified bio-
diversity “hot spots” (areas rich in native plant and animal life minus a large part of their
original habitat), from the devastation wrought by open cast mining, is important not just for
itself, but also as a guide to how such issues can get sorted out even in a poor country like
India. It is tempting to think that India, with its strong courts and tenacious NGOs, is better off
than China, which is visited by one environmental disaster after another and countries like
Indonesia which continue to burn rain forests and literally spread a pall of gloom over the area.
If we recall that the Silent Valley in Kerala was saved for posterity effectively through
the intervention of one person, Indira Gandhi, the denouement of the battle over Kudremukh
indicates that the country need no longer be dependent on the good fortune of having the right
person in the right place at the critical time. The country’s institutional mechanism ensures that
justice and foresight will prevail and the powerful defeated. Over the Christmas weekend my
family and I went holidaying to Chikmagalur and took a short drive through parts of the
Kudremukh National Park. If the green hills of Chikmagalur are soft and pretty, Kudremukh in
a way represents its crowning glory. It is an area of outstanding beauty, marked by alternate
stretches of grassland and dense forests. This contrast at not so high an altitude (alpine
meadows come above 10,000 feet whereas Kudremukh mostly averages 2,500 feet) is
remarkable. Familiar as I have been with the often-denuded slopes of the UP and Himachal
hills, I could only think that Kudremukh is a treasure that has to be preserved for future
generations. But the value of the Western Ghats or Kudremukh or any such region goes beyond
aesthetics. To preserve the diversity of plant and animal life is to ensure the future of life on the
planet itself. This is by now well-known but bears repetition as a lot of the debate on
environmental issues in India still depicts environmental concerns as upper-class fads. Very
simply, we need to save the environment for our children and their children. To do this you

37
have to concentrate on areas rich in diversity but simultaneously threatened. And you preserve
such bio-diversity by not fragmenting its home or habitat. R Sukumar, who led an Indian
Institute of Science study of Kudremukh, told Frontline, “Habital fragmentation is the single
largest threat to bio-diversity and biological integrity.”
To break up a continuous region which has its own integrity is to get ready to destroy it.
And how much ruinous can you get than to do open cast mining in such an area! You are not
just digging narrow shafts but literally shaving off layers and layers of earth with all the micro
organisms in them. It is on these that the pyramid of life is built with the large predators at the
top. The IISc report asserts, “open cast mining causes … virtually irreparable damage.” The
well-meaning gentlemen who run the iron ore firm are upset that they get no credit for planting
millions of saplings to reforest the area. First, what they planted were acacia and eucalyptus,
which are exotic (alien to the region) and that too on the grasslands, not where they shaved off
the earth through their mining. They show you tree cover where there was grassland originally,
when it is quite wrong to think that natural grassland is devoid of its own life.
The iron ore mining lease in Kudremukh was granted in 1969 for 30 years. In 1987 came
the pelletisation plant in Mangalore, where beneficiated ore was sent as slurry via a pipeline.
This beneficiation process is a particular culprit. It leaves behind waste tailings which are
polluting the Bhadra river (it looks different from what it used to) and rapidly harming farm
yields along its course. In 1987 also came the notification, on the pleading of conservationists
like Ullas Karanth, declaring 56,000 hectares as a national park. The key issue was the state
government quietly leaving out 3,700 hectares where the iron ore company worked. So after the
lease ended in 1999, K M Chinnappa, a retired forest officer who led an NGO called Wildlife
First, moved the Supreme Court, seeking an end to the mining. The court posed the primary
question—why allow mining in a notified forest area—and answered with its verdict in 2002
that mining end by 2005. In endless legal battles over the last three years, the court has stood
firm in its resolve. In a small way a new dawn will break over Kudremukh and India in 2006!
[Source: http://www.business-standard.com]

Centre, State to feel heat of Kudremukh Closure

Bangalore, Dec 26, 2005: Halting iron ore mining in Kudremukh region in Karnataka from
December 31 is likely to hit the revenues of several government agencies owned by state and
the Centre. As per the Supreme Court judgement on a petition filed by an NGO, Kudremukh
Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL), a government of India enterprise and the country’s largest
mining and pelletisation complex, will down shutters on its mining operations in Kudremukh
from the final day of this year. While KIOCL is under pressure to invest Rs 4,000 crore to shift
its mining base from Kudremukh, government agencies like state electricity board, Mangalore
Port and income tax department would also be hit due to the closure. Currently, power for
mining in Kudremukh is being sourced from state-owned Mescom power station in Mangalore
through high voltage electricity grids. In addition to regular power tariffs of around Rs 180
crore per year, KIOCL has been paying Rs 12 crore as wheeling charges to Mescom to bring
electricity from Mangalore to Kudremukh. Of the total power sourced from Mescom, KIOCL
has been using 90% of electricity for its mining at Kudremukh while the remaining 10% is
being used at Mangalore pellet plant, sources said. From 2006, KIOCL’s power tariff payment
is likely decline by 90% as it will cease mining operations in Kudremukh.
KIOCL exports around 3.5 million tonne pellets and 2 million tonne of ore concentrate
through Mangalore Port Trust every year against the payment of Rs 14 crore. The payment for

38
shipping is expected to decline by 40% as the company is likely to stop exporting concentrate
ore from next year. The closure of Kudremukh mining operations would also downsize its
income tax payment by Rs 110 crore this fiscal. The company is investing Rs 200 crore for
upgrading the infrastructure in the Mangalore pellet plant to switch over from the current
magnetite ore based production to hematite ore based technology. KIOCL’s total turnover stood
at Rs 1,853 crore in the fiscal 2004-05 while its net profit touched Rs 650 crore and it paid a
dividend of Rs 130 crore. The ceasing of mining will lead KIOCL to spend Rs 4,000 crore
towards shifting its operation to another mining destination. Simultaneously, the company’s
revenue and net profit are expected to decline by 20-30% after the closure of mining at
Kudremukh.
[Source: http://www.financialexpress.com]

Deve Gowda urges PM to intervene in Kudremukh Mining Case

Former prime minister and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda has sought Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh’s personal intervention for continuance of mining operations in Kudremukh,
for safety and other reasons.
Former prime minister and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda has sought Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh’s personal intervention for continuance of mining operations in Kudremukh,
for safety and other reasons. Releasing copies of the letter (written to the PM) to the media at a
press conference here on Saturday, he said he had appealed to the Prime Minister to advise the
officials concerned in the Law Ministry as well as in the Ministry of Environment and Forests
to file an interim application before the Supreme Court (SC), based on the affidavit filed earlier
and to engage the services of Attorney General or Solicitor General for getting an early hearing
before December 2005 so that the stoppage of mining can be avoided. “The issue needs to be
defended strongly before the Supreme Court so that Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited
(KIOCL) would be allowed to continue for some more time, till they have an alternative,” the
letter stated. The Company was in possession of a mining lease at Kudremukh which was valid
for a period of 30 years and its validity expired in 1999.Based on a PIL filed by an NGO, the
SC pronounced its judgement on October 30, 2002, that the mining operations at Kudremukh
shall continue only up to December 2005.However, the Company filed a petition for direction
for further continuance of mining operations, for safety and other reasons. But the Supreme
Court again directed on September 30, 2005, that no mining is permissible after December 31,
2005, and thereafter, the company’s applications will be listed for hearing in January 2006. Mr
Gowda also said that the Ministry of Environment and Forests, filed an additional affidavit
before the SC
Impact
Stating that about 2,000 direct employees and about 8,000 indirect employees, mostly
from Chikmagalur district, will be adversely affected if the KIOCL closes its mining operations
in Kudremukh, Mr Gowda said the KIOCL has been an excellent performer with consistent
profits and has contributed about Rs 400 crore last year to the Government of India exchequer
by way of dividend, income tax, etc., and about Rs 300 crore to the State exchequer by way of
royalty, cess, duties and electricity charges, among others.Mr Gowda also noted that
infrastructure created over the years, with a replacement value of about Rs 4,000 crore, will
become redundant, if the company closes its operations. Gowda said in the letter that the
Company should be saved in the interest of the nation and the State and to protect the
livelihood of about ten thousand employees who are either employed directly or indirectly.

39
 [Source: http://www.deccanherald.com]

New Mines on Uranium Map

Jamshedpur, Dec. 19, 2005: Two new uranium deposits, one in Karnataka and the other in
Rajasthan, have come up on the national map. The sites have been identified by the Atomic
Mineral Division (AMD), a wing of the department of atomic energy. Officials of Uranium
Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), Jaduguda, informed a couple of days back that AMD,
which undertakes exploration and research activities for uranium mining, has recently
identified the new sites at Gulbarga district in Karnataka and Shikar district in Rajasthan. The
AMD will now undertake a feasibility study at both these places on the basis of which uranium
mining at the respective places will be taken up.” If the feasibility report of the AMD is a
positive one, uranium mining can be carried out in those areas. It shall, however, take quite
some time for the AMD to prepare the feasibility report as several details have to be looked into
before finalising the report,” UCIL officials informed. About the two new projects that the
UCIL has taken up in Meghalaya and Andhra Pradesh, Diwakar Acharya, general manager
(mines), UCIL, said: “In Andhra Pradesh, mining operation will be undertaken in two districts
— Nalgonda and Cuddapah while West Khasi hills in Meghalaya has been identified for
mining operations there.”
UCIL secretary P.V. Dubey also spoke about their projects in Jaduguda in East
Singhbhum, where the company has started two new mines at Banduhurang (open cast) and
Bagjata (underground), while a new processing plant is under construction at Turamdih, about
12 km from the city. “Moreover, efforts are also being made to start underground uranium
mining at Mahuldih in Seraikela-Kharsawan district for which a public hearing is slated on
December 20,” the senior UCIL official added. The Mahuldih project will be the seventh such
project of UCIL in Jharkhand, Dubey said. Acharya, who has been entrusted to look after the
Mahuldih project, revealed that an environment impact assessment (EIA) report has already
been prepared by Mecon, a Ranchi-based consultant firm. UCIL officials further informed that
uranium extracted from different mines in Jharkhand is utilised in 14 nuclear power reactors for
generating 2,700 MW of power.
[Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com]

Environmental Clearance for Uranium Mining

Lok Sabha, December 12, 2005: Ministry of Environment & Forests received a proposal on
8th June, 2005 from the Department of Atomic Energy for environmental clearance of the
proposed uranium mining project for mining of 1250 tonnes per day of uranium ore at
Lambapur-Peddagattu in District Nalgonda in Uttar Pradesh. Expert Committee (Mining) has
appraised the proposal in its meeting held in October 2005 and has recommended to the
Government for grant of environmental clearance subject to stipulating stringent environmental
clearance conditions inter-alia undertaking groundwater modelling studies and obtaining other
requisite statutory clearances by M/s Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. This information was
given by Minister of State for Environment & Forests, Shri Namo Narain Meena in his written
reply to a question of Shri Madhu Goud Yaskhi in the Lok Sabha, today
[Source: http://pib.nic.in]

40
Anti-Mining Lobby misleading innocent People: UCIL
Shillong, 10 Nov 2005: The Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) today came down
heavily on ''anti-mining lobby'' for spreading ''unfounded news'' and denied media reports on
mining-related health hazards caused to locals at Domiasiat in Meghalaya's West Khasi hills
district. Recently reports said several people had already become victims of uranium mining at
Domiasiat. The UCIL issued a statement saying uranium mining at Domiasiat had not yet
started and termed as ''baseless and malicious'' the reports that exploratory mining had caused
numerous ailments to local residents of the area. UCIL Officer on Special Duty F D Rynjah
asserted that uranium mining was " not carried out in any part of Meghalaya'' and that in 2000,
the UCIL had only expressed its desire to mine at Nongbah Jynrin and Mawthabah villages and
not at Domiasiat. The state government had not given any permission too.''...it is clear that the
anti-nuclear lobby is spreading all types of unfounded reports to misguide the innocent people''
it said. The Atomic Mineral Directorate (AMD) for Exploration and Research had carried out
exploratory mining way back in the early 1990s for pilot plant and laboratory analysis.
Mr Rynjah said tailings and waste rock generated during exploratory mining had been kept
fully covered by thick concrete since 1992 and no mining activities had taken place in the area.
The mine pits are located near Nongbah Jynrin and Mawthabah villages and the villagers had
not complained about anyone suffering from radiation or any other diseases. The radiation level
in the area is as good as natural background radiation. It is unbelievable that women and
children from Phlangdiloin and Phod-umyiap villages would suffer from such diseases and
disorders since they are situated 27 kms from the site whereas Nongbah Jynrin and Mawthabah
are only two kms from the mining site, the statement said. The UCIL also informed that it had
written to the State Government through the Health Minister for sending a team of medical
specialists to undertake thorough medical tests on the women and children of the two villages
to verify the facts following the rumours spread by ''vested anti-nuclear lobby''. It said the
UCIL's safety record was known to all and that it had received the President's safety Award
thrice besides ISO certification for quality assurance and environmental management system. It
also said that utmost care was taken in all project sites as per international standard specified by
the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP) and regulation prescribed by the
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
[Source: http://www.newkerala.com]

Greens against Uranium sales to India

October 21, 2005 : The Greens have urged Prime Minister John Howard to rule out Australian
support for developing nuclear ties with India.And the Australian Conservation Foundation
(ACF) claimed federal government moves to expand uranium exports to both China and India
were undermining global efforts to stop nuclear proliferation.The calls came after the
government this week said it was open to the idea of China conducting uranium exploration and
mining in Australia. The two nations are in the midst of negotiations to draw up a nuclear
safeguards agreement that would allow Australia to export uranium to China.The Age
newspaper reported India had signalled it might pursue closer nuclear ties with Australia as it
seeks to expand its domestic nuclear power capacity.Greens energy spokeswoman Senator
Christine Milne said the reported Indian moves were deeply troubling."Granting India an
exemption would be tantamount to ripping up the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, paving the
way for a significant expansion of nuclear weapons capability and making the world less safe,"
she said."It could also smooth the way for Australian uranium sales to India, as flagged by the

41
Greens in parliament last month, particularly given the Australian government's avid support
for an expansion of uranium exports."
Senator Milne said the world did not need more nuclear power."It is dangerous, polluting
and no solution to climate change," she said.ACF spokesman David Noonan said all Australian
uranium inevitably became nuclear waste and potentially fuelled nuclear weapons."Revelations
in the media this week have revealed Australian involvement in proposals and discussions to
sell uranium to China and India, both nuclear weapon states, was in direct conflict with
international disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation laws," Mr Noonan said."The current
rush by the federal government to get uranium out of the ground and shipped overseas is
misguided and deeply destabilising."The government's push for more uranium mines is
working to undermine international attempts to put the brakes on nuclear proliferation and
promote disarmament." Mr Noonan said a senior Chinese general recently threatened the use of
nuclear weapons in any conflict over Taiwan.China has not ratified the Comprehensive Test
Ban Treaty.He said India had secretly diverted civil nuclear technology to use in developing
nuclear weapons and had not signed the fundamental Nuclear Non Proliferation (NPT)
Treaty."China, India and other nations need new energy sources but nuclear is not the answer.
It is not clean, green, cheap or safe."
[Source: http://www.theage.com.au]

Orissa signs MOUs with 5 Companies for setting up Steel Plants

The Orissa government has signed five memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with
various private parties for setting up steel plants taking the total number of MOUs for steel
plants to 42. The latest five MOUs are…
1. Rungta Mines LId - 2 steel plants of 1 m.t.p.a capacity each at Kamando (Sundargarh dist) and Jharband (
Dhenkanal dist) at a cost of As 2,275 crore.
2. Stats Steel India (P) LId - 0.50 m.t.p.a plant at Tangi (Cuttack district) at a cost of As 855 crore.
3. Jai Balaji Jyothi Steels LId - 0.33 m.t.p.a plant at Tainsarin (Sundargarh dist) at a cost of As 321 crore.
4. Brand Alloys LId - 0.27 m.t.p.a plant at Palaspanga (Dist. Keonjhar) with an investment of As 307 crore.
5. Eastern Steel & Power LId - 0.25 m.t.p.a at lahandabud (Jharsuguda dist) at a cost of As 254 crore.
Moreover, an MOU signed earlier with Jindal Steel & Power Ltd was revised for
increasing the capacity from 2 m.t.p.a to 6 m.t.p.a. The company proposes to set up a
beneficiation plant at Deojhar (Keonjhar dist) and Steel Plant at Angul with a total investment
of Rs 13,135 crore. Bhushan Steel & Strips has earlier signed an agreement .to set up 3 m.t.p.a
steel plant at Meramundali in Dhenkanal district.
[Source: Mining Engineers’ Journal, January 2006]

Rs 31,800-crore Steel Projects in Pipeline

New Delhi - 27 December, 2005: Indian and multinational
companies are announcing fresh investments in the metals sector
at a breakneck pace. Eleven Indian and multinational metal
companies have already lined up investments of $69.9 billion (Rs
31,800 crore) in greenfield and brownfield projects. These
projecects are to be implemented in the next four to six years
and are likely to increase the capacity of the steel industry by
a whopping 103 million tonnes. The foreign direct investments in
steel sector would come from Mittal Steel, which has planned to
invest $8.7 billion while POSCO would invest $11.3 billion and
Vedanta $2.7 billion. The Indian firms, which have proposed to

42
invest are Tata Steel ($16.7 billion), Jindal Vijaynagar Steel
($11.6 billion), Jindal Steel & Power ($5.3 billion), Ispat
Industries ($3.3 billion), Bhushan Steel ($2 billion) and
Rashtriya Ispat Nigam ($1.9 billion).
The major steel capacity built-up announcement and proposals
have come from Tata Steel (25 million tonnes), Jindal Vijaynagar
(22 million tonnes), Mittal Steel (12 million tonnes), Jindal
Steel & Power (11 million tonnes), POSCO (12 million tonnes),
Vedanta (5 million tonnes), Essar Steel (4 million tonnes) and
others (12 million tonnes). Mittal Steel, JSW Steel (Jindal
Vijayanagar), POSCO, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel & Power, Vedanta,
Essar Steel and Ispat Industries have announced greenfield steel
projects to add a capacity of total 73.33 million tonnes at an
investment of $43.4 billion (Rs 19, 750 crore). Ispat
Industries, Bhushan Steel and Tata Steel are currently
implementing their 6.5 million tonnes expansion programme at a
cost of $4.1 billion (Rs 1,866 crore). Hindalco has proposed a
million-tonne alumina refinery and 2.60 lakh tonnes of alumina
smelter in Orissa at a capital outlay of $2.4 million. The
company has already announced a 3.25 lakh tonne greenfield
alumina smelter project with a capital outlay of $1.7 millon.
Orissa and Jharkhand with natural advantages, such as the
availability of iron ore, bauxite and coal, account for 74
percent of new metals sector projects being initiated in India.
A research done by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy
(CMIE) and Morgan Stanley Research shows that Orissa and
Jharkhand, two of the richest states in India in terms of
minerals resources, have been the favourite destinations for
investors.
Key projects in the metals sector
Company Capacity (Mn tonne) Cost ($ billion)
Mittal Steel 12.0 8.7
JSW 22.0 11.6
POSCO 12.0 11.3
Tata Steel 25.0 16.7
Jindal Steel 11.0 5.3
Vedanta 5.0 2.7
Essar Steel 4.0 2.3
Rashtriya Ispat 3.6 1.9
Ispat Industries 3.0 3.3
Bhushan Steel 4.5 2
Source: Morgan Stanley Research
[Source: The Business Standard]

India’s Steel hopes: positively good

November 28, 2005: The current concerns over prices notwithstanding, spirits are high when it
comes to the future of steel – globally, as also in India. However, planning the future of steel
has been complicated by several unknowns as also by well-known constraints. The unknowns
include the size of the future steel market. Known challenges are in how to get iron ore

43
competitively and develop steel capacity that would stand out in global competition in no
uncertain terms. The rush of steel interests in India has been on account of these factors only.
Steel producers want secure supply of iron ore. There is reasonable justification for this, as
without secure supply steel production may just turn out to be uncompetitive as many others in
competition are already endowed with this advantage. Mittal Steel, for example, has already
announced that over 80% of its huge steel operations will depend on its own iron ore by 2010.
This is significant because this will take the company yards ahead of others, unless of course it
so happens that there is glut of iron ore and the same is sold cheap, making captive mines not
worth the bother. Available information and intelligence are not supportive of these conditions
and one is convinced that, if not the winners, those staying in the race must have stable iron ore
sourcing. But don’t forget, this is fine so long as cost of the mining assets and other costs are
within acceptable limits. If mines are priced by the market, many such propositions may turn
out to be bad deals. India is also being seen as a big market for steel. But the question that
remains in the realm of debate is: how big is that potential? There are simpler ways of using the
established past relationship between steel consumption and relevant macro variables and
computing the future values on a linear regression model, on a given growth path of the macro
variables. Interestingly, the results from these simple methods have been largely in line with the
actual results. Therefore, one should not hesitate doing the same once again. However, the
more difficult issues are related to the larger economic growth and more importantly on the
possible changes in the structure of the economy.
Whether the future growth of the country will see a structural change with competitive
manufacturing leading it with the necessary support from the services and agriculture, or that
the current run of services sector-led growth will continue with subdued manufacturing, has
drawn the attention of most of the professional economists and there is clear division among
them. This issue has large implications on steel prospects. Manufacturing-led growth will mean
stronger demand for steel. This will also make way for greater intensity of consumption of
steel. While emerging conditions in the country strongly point to this transformation, a break
from the past, predicting the same in clear terms with necessary quantification has been fairly
difficult. Gut feelings, whims and fancies are all at work. There are so many scenarios one can
work out based on each set of ‘gut feelings’ or ‘whims and fancies’ that results will cover any
number starting from 80 million tonne to, say, 200 million tonne for 2020. Despite the lack of
clear projections, the industry does not seem to be bothered about this. If steel starts moving out
of the developed nations, where will it go? China, India, the CIS, Brazil, or will it get thinly
dispersed around the world wherever the market is? There are greater chances that if displaced
from the developed world, over the coming decades, the industry will find a home in the above
mentioned countries, unless the process of globalisation sees a reversal and nations turn
protectionist. Whereas such an outcome is unlikely by current strands of dominant thoughts and
the processes initiated so far, protectionism that has ruled the world of steel (the developed
world mostly) so far is likely see its end soon. Therefore, there are reasons to remain optimistic
about and more focused on India and develop sufficient steel capacities competitively not only
for the home market but for the world.
[Source: http://www.financialexpress.com]

Mittal Steel sets foot in India

October 10, 2005: Mittal Steel Company N.V. (Mittal Steel), the world’s largest steel
company, on Saturday said that it will invest Rs400bn (US$9bn) for setting up a 12-mn-tons-a-
year steel plant in the state of Jharkhand. Mittal Steel signed a Memorandum of Understanding

44
(MoU) with the Government of Jharkhand for setting up a mining and steel-making operation
in the mineral-enriched eastern state. The company intends to undertake a detailed project
report to identify location of the steel plant, iron ore and coal mines and water sources. As part
of the project, Mittal Steel will also study the possibility of setting up a 2,500 MW power plant
besides setting up townships for its employees. Definitive agreements would be entered into
once the detailed project report has been completed and found acceptable to both Mittal Steel
and the Government of Jharkhand. The project would be developed in two phases of 6-mn-
metric-tons each. The first phase is expected to be completed within 48 months. The second
phase will be completed in another 54 months after completion of Phase I.Mittal Steel has also
signed two additional MoUs, confirming its social commitment to the region. The company
will work closely with the Jharkhand Government to achieve an improvement in both of these
areas.
Commenting on the occasion, Lakshmi N. Mittal, Chairman and CEO Mittal Steel, said,
"Steel consumption in India is set to experience considerable growth over the next decade and
is therefore a natural market for Mittal Steel to build a production presence. Jharkhand is well-
known for its raw material reserves and good infrastructure and is therefore an excellent
location for setting up this type of greenfield venture”.” We would also be providing
considerable social and community support to the region. We have been discussing this with
the government in some detail and have agreed to focus on the area of technical education,
which is vital for improving and sustaining industrial growth in the region", added Mittal."Our
focus will now be on completing the Detailed Project Report with a view to starting
construction on the plant within the next two years", said Mittal.
[Source: http://www.indiainfoline.com]

Jharkhand dents Mittal demands

New Delhi October 7, 2005: Final MoU to contain timeframe instead of sought concessions.
The memorandum of understanding for setting up a 12-million-tonne steel plant in Jharkhand,
to be signed on Saturday by the state government and Mittal Steel Company, will incorporate
hardly any of the exemptions sought by the world’s largest steel maker. Instead, it will set out a
specific schedule for the project. Mittal Steel has not committed to a deadline so far and has
proposed that project implementation should be revised periodically before meetings of a
facilitation committee. “The concessions (the ones that the Mittals are asking for) are not
acceptable. In the final MoU, there will be none of the concessions (that were there in the draft
MoU). We have also set a timeframe. The first phase must be completed in 48-54 months. The
same will apply to the second phase,” a Jharkhand government official told Business Standard
today.
The MoU will neither grant special economic zone (SEZ) status to the plant nor allocate
specific iron ore mines, two key clauses in the draft MoU drawn up in August. “The only thing
we have said is that we may consider SEZ status at a later date for the steel plant. Not for
mining in any case,” said the official. Mittal Steel has agreed to the revisions. “We have made
it simple. We only want incentives that are given to any mega-project in step with the industrial
policy of Jharkhand and as permitted by the fiscal rules in India,” said Mittal Steel’s Executive
Vice-President (Finance) and Corporate Treasurer Sudhir Maheshwari. This was not a
climbdown, he added. “Any agreement is reached after a lot of give and take.” Some of the key
incentives sought by the company, apart from SEZ status, were exemption from all direct taxes
(including the minimum alternate tax), Customs duty on import of capital goods, sales tax on

45
royalty payments, service tax on import of technology, the works contract tax, and the duty on
electricity produced or purchased. The draft MoU had also talked of reimbursing half of Mittal
Steel’s contribution to the employees provident fund and employees state insurance, subsidies
on interest, on capital investment, and on costs of energy-saving equipment and machines.
The concessions involve the Centre and the state government and have been questioned by
the steel industry, particularly at a time when the Orissa government’s deal with South Korea’s
Posco is in the headlines. According to industry players, had Mittal Steel been granted the
concessions, the Centre and the state would have lost thousands of crores of rupees in revenue.
[Source: http://www.business-standard.com]

Coal Mine blast in China kills atleast 68

At least 68 workers were killed and 83 others missing after a major explosion in a state-
run coal mine in Harbin in northeast China's Heilongjiang province. Upto 70 miners have been
saved and out of that 48 have been brought out of the mine in the capital city of the
northeastern province. Altogether 221 miners were working underground when the blast
occurred at 9.40 p.m. on 28.11.2005 at Dongfeng coal mine run by the Longmei Mining Co.
Ltd.
[Source: Mining Engineers’ Journal, January 2006]

Centre forming strategy for Coal Gasification

The government of India has proposed an inter-ministerial group to develop an
underground coal gasification (UCG) strategy for the country to tap the large deposits of coal
reserves that can not be mined. According to estimates by Geological Survey of India, in
January 2005, India's coal reserves were at 2,47,846.85 million tonnes (MT) of which
recoverable reserves are 92,960.15 MT. Recovera_le reserves of lignite are estimated at
4,259.68 MT of the total 37,153.90 MT. Through UGC, coal may be converted into
combustible gas insitu and the product - synthetic gas can be brought to the surface to be used
as fuel or chemical feed stock.
In addition there is a huge deposit of lignite-bituminous coal and lignite in the Cambay
Basin in Gujarat and Barmer Sanchor Basin in Rajasthan which would never be mined
conventionally. Insitu underground gasification is the only viable method to tap it.
[Source: Mining Engineers’ Journal, January 2006]

More Land under Prospective Mining

The mining ministry proposes to increase the area for prospective mining for major
minerals to 500 sq.km from 25 sq.km at present only for those companies which conducted
initial surveys under the reconnaissance licence. The ministry also wants to club licences
granted for preliminary surveys with prospecting licences which will be granted collectively for
a maximum of eight years. Those proposals are part of the recommendations made by an
international committee set up by the ministry. They will now be forwarded to the Hoda
committee for revamping the ministry policy. The ministry also favoured extending
reconnaissance licence to other minerals, even if the original permission was only for one
mineral, provided no other company was granted.
[Source: Mining Engineers’ Journal, January 2006]

46
Improved Performance of Mining Industry in India
During 2004-05 India's industrial production grew by an estimated 8.9% and buoyance in
the services sector helped to raise GDP by an estimated 6.9%. Foreign direct investment into
the country trebled to an estimated US $15 billion.
India has estimated itself as the world's largest manufacturing center of cut polished
diamonds and exports of gems and jewellery are worth US $ 12 billion per annum, with
diamonds alone accounting for US $ 8.6 billion. It is also estimated that atleast As 100 billion
worth of diamonds are sold in the domestic market each year and this market is growing by
more than 15% year -on-year. Eleven out of every twelve stones set in jewellery worldwide are
from India.
India produces about 12 tpa of gold, mostly as a byproduct of copper smelting as per
following details.....

2004
Birla Copper (Now a unit of Hindalo industries 5.5t
Sterlite Industries (India) 5.2t
Hutti Gold Mines Ltd proposes to expand to 3.5 t/a 1.5t
Total 12.2t

47
Production of principal minerals and metals is given below. ...

2002 - 03 2003 - 04 2004 - 05*

Coal (Mt) 300 350 385
Crude oil (Mt) 31.7 32.0 35.5
Iron ore (Mt) 72.0 73.0 74.5
Finished Steel (Mt) 36.5 34.5 36.0
Aluminium ('000t) 628.0 817.3 842.0
Copper ('000t) 317.0 396.0 390.0
Primary Zinc ('000t) 207.0 254.6 240.0
Lead ('000t) 50.0 71.0 60.0
* Estimated
[Source: Mining Engineers’ Journal, January 2006]

Bauxite Mining in Vizag Dist will deplete Eco System: Scientist

Visakhapatnam, December 31, 2005: Bauxite ores act as protective caps for the rich landmass
and springs that occur below the laterite-bauxite rocks and blasting these caps for bauxite
mining will completely deplete the eco-system, according to noted earth scientist Sreedhar
Ramamurthy. Highlighting the adverse impact on nature from the proposed bauxite mining in
this district, he told a one-day workshop organised by 'Mines, Minerals and People' (MM&P), a
national alliance of mining struggle groups and communities in India, that destroying these
protective caps through mining would deplete the eco-system. The Andhra Pradesh
Government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the private sector Jindal
Group for Rs 9500-crore bauxite mining and smelter project to be jointly taken up by the
private company and AP Mineral Development Corporation. The project had attracted severe
criticism due to its adverse effects on the eco-system and large displacement of tribals living in
the area. ''Employment rates in the mining sector have decreased and the project will not create
a large number of jobs as claimed by the state government,'' he said.
CPI (M) MLA Demudu from Chintapalli, under which mandal the bauxite mining is to be
taken up, expressed strong opposition to the project and spoke of the injustice, the displacement
and the impoverishment that such a project would lead to. He said the leaders in the present
Congress government had opposed this project before they came to power but made a 'U turn'
once they came to power. Former Energy Secretary EAS Sarma urged the tribal representatives
and leaders to protect their constitutional rights and stand by the people by not giving their
consent to such projects. He hoped that the Tribal Advisory Committee would exercise its right
to defend the scheduled areas from being given away to such projects. He said the tribal people
would lose their status and legal rights once they were removed from the scheduled area. Mrs.
Bhanumathi from Samata, an NGO working for the welfare of tribals in the state, spoke about
the costs that communities pay directly and indirectly and how social equity and justice were
not considered as important parameters for economic development. Representatives from the
affected communities gave a call for a strong people's movement to oppose the project. Several
local organizations like AP Girijana Sangham, Adivasi Mitra, Dhimsa Network, Crynet
Collective, Laya, CARE, Action-Aid and political parties like CPI and CPI (M) also
participated in the workshop.
[Source: http://news.webindia123.com]

48
Coal Blocks earmarked for CIL might go to others
New Delhi 30 December, 2005: The government plans to
operationalise an emergency coal production plan to increase the
capacity of existing coal mines. It also plans to give away coal
blocks originally earmarked for Coal India Limited (CIL) to
other sectors such as power, steel and cement to augment coal
production as CIL, is already operating at optimal capacity. In
effect, this would bring in larger number of players in the coal
mining sector. This comes even as power plants, which complained
of “ critical” stocks of coal all through the year, earlier
this week reported adequate stocks that would last between 16
and 47 days. Over the year production of coal at CIL grew at a
rate of 6% the power sector imported 5 million tonnes (MT) of
coal and hydel power production was also increased to tackle the
coal crunch.
With the Public Investment Board (PIB) also approving an
emergency coal production plan earlier this week, an additional
investment of Rs.2,500 crore in 16 existing coal blocks is
headed for a final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs (CCEA). The emergency plan was drawn up in response to
the power sector’s warning that the 2011-12 coal production
target of 525 MT would fall short of the requirement by 70 MT.
The plan paves the way to add 71 MT more by stepping up
capacities of existing coal blocks. Mr. P.C. Parakh, Secretary ,
Coal who will retire by year-end told ET, adding “ the power
sector has never had it so good.” In fact, his department is
now examining a proposal from the National Thermal Power
Corporation (NTPC) seeking six coal blocks with reserves
exceeding 200 MT. The blocks were originally earmarked for CIL,
which has 289 blocks at its disposal to achieve 500 MT annual
production up to 2029-30. At a recent meeting at the PMO, a
proposal was mooted to give away CIL blocks that would not be
operationalised in the 11th and 12th Plan period to other
consumers. It was felt that 200 blocks would suit CIL’s
requirement to produce 500 MT annually upto 2029-30. CIL could
always explore and add on more blocks to fill future
requirements, instead of siting on the blocks for 10-20 years,
it was argued.
[Source: The Economic Times]

Mineral Rights: States need Centre's permission in some cases

New Delhi, December 23, 2005: Coal and Mines Minister Sisram Ola today said states were
free to grant mineral concessions but only after attaining prior permission from the Centre for a
few minerals, including iron ore. In a statement in the Rajya Sabha on a calling attention
motion of Mr Dipankar Mukherjee and others, Mr Ola said the states were required to seek the
Centre's permission for the few minerals. He, however, said investments in mines and mineral-
based industry for grant of mineral concession to applicants could not be the sole basis for a
decision.’ Iron ore lease may be granted for setting up a steel plant. However, there is no
provision of linkage under the law,'' he said. As per the National Mineral Policy, 1993, both
export of minerals and value addition within the country were valid activities and the aim
should be to strike a balance between the two in the interests of the country and mining

49
industry. The Government has already constituted a High Level Committee under the
Chairmanship of Member, Planning Commission, to review the National Mineral Policy and
recommend possible amendments in the Law. Allaying apprehension that production of iron
ore was on the decline in the country, Mr Ola said surveys by the Geological Survey of India
(GSI) revealed that there was no dearth of the mineral vital for iron and steel industries.
Replying to the debate, Mr Ola said frequent surveys by the GSI had revealed that both reserves
and production of iron ore were increasing. Conceding that some factories in both the private
and public sectors were facing shortage of minerals, the Minister said the Mines Policy did not
prevent transportation of minerals from one state to another.
Referring to a suggestion by some Members that revenues of mineral-producing states
should be increased, he said it would be discussed at the next meeting of the Ministry. ''All the
suggestions put forward by the Members of the House will be discussed threadbare before
formulating new directives,'' he assured the House. Earlier, a BJP member said the Centre was
not paying full attention to the ministry. In support of his argument, he contended that the
ministry was yet to get its Advisory Committee. The Member also opposed the reported move
to privatise NALCO in Orissa, saying it was a profit-making public sector undertaking.’ While
the private sector is welcome in the mining sector, profit-making PSUs should not be
privatised,'' the Member said.
[Source: http://news.webindia123.com]

Minister for Proper Rehab & Resettlement Policy

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 19, 2005: Steel and mines minister Mr Padmanabha Behera today stressed
the need to formulate an appropriate rehabilitation and resettlement policy for the displaced
families Addressing a function organised by the Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for
Development Studies here today, the minister said that Orissa, endowed with rich natural
resources, had to evict many people from their land to accommodate the industrial units to tap
the resource available in the state. Entrepreneurs were coming to the state to exploit mineral
resources through value addition. But the most important aspects – that is – rehabilitation and
resettlement, peripheral development and infrastructure support – are not taken care of
adequately, he observed while suggesting that those aspects should be parts of project reports.
Describing the displacement as a social liability, Mr Behera said that most important aspect of
this was the formulation of an appropriate rehabilitation and resettlement policy acceptable to
all those who were evicted from their dwelling place.
[Source: http://www.thestatesman.net]

Bright days ahead for Mining Sector

Dec. 8, 2005: With the mining industry in India poised to play a crucial role in meeting the
energy needs of the country, the future of mining engineers in India seems to be bright. If the
IITs take initiative to attract, develop and retain the best talents, Indian engineers will
contribute in a big way in making the mining industry the most competitive in the world,
observed Mr TK Chatterjee of Dipak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited, Pune.
Mr Chatterjee was delivering his keynote address at the three-day international symposium of
‘Advances in Mining Technology and Management’, organised by the IIT Kharagpur’s mining
engineering department last week. In order to lure the best talents to take up mining
engineering, IITs can make presentations at class XI and XII so that the students can make their
choices at the time of joining colleges as there are openings for mining engineers in Australia

50
suffering from shortages, he pointed out. India’s greatest shortage has been felt in oil, forcing
the country to spend most of the foreign exchanges on purchasing oil. This will aggravate if oil
consumption (presently 34 per cent) continues to grow at such high rates in the coming years.
The most important, practical and economically viable substitute for oil and gas is coal.
After the first oil shock of 1973, there was much talk of how to reduce the country’s
dependence on imported oil and it was stressed the need to maximise the use of coal reserves of
the country which were thought to be sufficient for at least 300 years. But over the years, India
joined the world race for oil and gas forgetting country’s coal reserves, he said. As per GSI
estimates of 2005, India’s proven coal reserves are 92.9 billion tons and the total of inferred
and indicated reserves are 154.9 billion tons bringing the total reserves to 247.8 billion tons.
Yet, the annual production of around 400 million tons is inadequate to meet the needs of power
stations and steel plants forcing to import even steam coal to the tune of over 10 million tons to
keep the power stations running. However, at the 2005 Coal Summit held in New Delhi
recently, the Planning Commission has indicated that a comprehensive energy policy will be
taken up when a major thrust will be given on coal. This will put major challenges before the
coal mining industry — quantitative, technological as well as competitive, Mr Chatterjee said.
The IIT director, Prof SK Dube said that the department has recently introduced a five-year
dual degree programme in safety engineering and disaster management in mines. The
symposium was attended by over 150 delegates across the world including the USA, Australia,
South Korea, France, Romania, Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. A total of 115
papers were presented at the conference.
[Source: http://www.thestatesman.net]

Tribes in Orissa protest against Mining Project

Bhubaneshwar, Dec 6, 2005: In a rare public appearance, hundreds from the primitive
Dongria Kondh tribe of Orissa took to streets yesterday protesting against setting up of a
mining project in their region. Dressed in traditional outfits and carrying weapons, the tribals,
one of the most primitive in the state, protested in the way they know best-beating drums,
singing and dancing, outside the State Assembly. The tribes said the project was anti-people
and would harm the ecological balance.” We have no proper source of livelihood, no land to
cultivate. These trees are our life. How will we survive if the trees are destroyed?” Harini, a
tribal woman, said. “We don’t have any land to cultivate. We solely depend on Nyamgiri Hills.
We depend upon the forest products. The project will destroy everything,” Mania, another
tribal, added. The project is being jointly undertaken by the state government and a private
mining firm and will involve the displacement of at least 120 tribal settlements. State
authorities, however, claimed that only a few tribal sects were opposing the project and that
most others had accepted the rehabilitation packages being offered.” We have undertaken
rehabilitation package by Vedanta. There’s nothing to oppose as such. Most of the people of
Kalahandi want the plant. It’s only few with vested interests who are against it,” Behera said.
Vedanta Resources Plc is a holding company for a diversified metals and mining company with
its principal operations located throughout India. Living in extremely penurious conditions, the
only saviours for them are the woods and the small plantations they use for agriculture. The
tribals are mostly nomads and keep moving within the region’s sprawling Nyamgiri Hills.
[Source: http://www.newkerala.com]

51
Dr. M.P.Narayanan Elected as Vice Chairman of World Mining Congress (WMC)
New Delhi, December 6, 2005: Dr M.P.Narayanan, former chairman Coal India Limited (CIL)
has been elected the Vice chairman of the World Mining Congress (WMC) a global body
mining engineers and experts headquartered in Poland. Dr. M.P. Narayanan who is a Member
of the International Organising Committee of the WMC was elected unanimously as Vice
Chairman of the WMC at a meeting held in Tehran in Iran recently. His name was proposed by
Shri S.K.Choudhary, Chairman of the Indian National Committee. Prof. Ajay Gosh who was
till recently the Vice Chairman of the WMC was unanimously nominated as Hon. Member of
the WMC in appreciation of his past services to WMC. There were 165 delegates from India
who attended the Conference including State Ministers from Orissa, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh,
Andhra Pradesh etc along with their Secretaries, Mining. The President of Iran while
inaugurating the Conference made a special mention about the strong Indian contingent. India
also effectively participated in the Congress by presenting important papers and in the
exhibition where many leading Indian Companies had their stalls. A decision to set up regional
office of WMC in New Delhi India was also held during the meet. It was also decided to have a
meeting of the International Organising Committee of WMC along with International Coal
Conference to held in New Delhi during November, 2006
[Source: http://press-releases.techwhack.com]

CRISIL upgrades Rating of Coal India

November 30, 2005: CRISIL has upgraded its rating on Coal India Limited’s (CIL’s) long-
term debt programme. This upgrade primarily reflects the company’s improved financial risk
profile. Robust cash accruals have helped the company to reduce its debt, and thereby
strengthen its capital structure and debt protection measures. These accruals arise from a
significant growth in the company’s operating income, and operating profit margin,
underpinned by increasing productivity and an uptrend in coal prices. CIL has considerably
enhanced its productivity through increased outsourcing of key activities to third parties and
greater mechanization. The ratings continue to reflect the company’s dominant status in the
Indian coal industry: CIL along with its eight subsidiaries accounts for nearly 80 per cent of
India’s total coal consumption. This underlines the company’s strategic importance for the
Indian economy. The deregulation of the coal industry, and private participation in coal mining,
are not likely to dilute this dominant status in the medium term. CIL does not face a major
threat from private sector because of its low pricing of coal, and high project gestation in
developing new mines. It does not face threat from coal imports as well, because of inadequate
handling facilities at domestic ports and insufficient rail facilities. CRISIL believes that CIL
will be a major beneficiary of the growing demand for coal, mainly for power sector, in India.
These rating strengths are partly offset by the company’s tax-inefficient corporate structure,
which continues to constrain its net profits. Moreover, CIL continues to be exposed to socio-
political issues associated with the Indian coal industry.
[Source: http://www.indiainfoline.com]

National Mineral Policy Review Committee yet to Submit Report

New Delhi, November 28, 2005: Planning Commission has set up a high-level committee to
review the National Mineral Policy to encourage the public and private sector investments in
mineral exploration, Minister of State for Mines, Dr Dasari Narayana Rao today informed the
Rajya Sabha. The Committee has yet to submit its recommendations, he said in a written reply.

52
Replying to a question on mining projects on forest land, Dr Rao said upto November 24, 2005,
137 proposals have been cleared by the Government and about 9722.77 hectares of land has
been diverted for the purpose. He further said that more information is being collected and will
be laid on the Table of House. Under Section 5(1) of the Mines and Minerals (development &
Regulation) Act, 1957, only an Indian national or a company registered in India can be granted
a reconnaissance permit, prospecting licence or mining lease for exploration or mining of
minerals, he said.
[Source: http://news.webindia123.com]

Another Hurdle added in Mining Sector Policy

Kolkata/New Delhi, November 06, 2005: As the high-level committee to review the
National Mineral Policy and suggest amendments to the Mines and Minerals Development and
Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957, headed by Planning Commission member Anwarul Hoda gets
down to work, the vexed issue of governments of mineral-rich states insisting on value addition
within the state as a precondition for granting mining concessions is occupying centrestage.
Unfortunately, it is deflecting attention from a far more serious issue facing the mineral sector -
the complicated rules and procedures and the huge delay in projects, which is putting several
private and foreign investors off. Around 1996, points out R K Sharma, secretary-general of the
Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), seven of the world’s top mining companies
were present in India, including Rio Tinto, Broken Hill Properties and Billiton (now BHP
Billiton), De Beers and Phelps Dodge. Only the first three are still present, Phelps Dodge being
the last to pull out six months back because of inordinate delays on its chromite plant project in
Jharkhand. Though the Centre has approved 188 reconnaissance permits, covering over 2.54
lakh sq km spread over Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka,
Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, there has been no instance of a
reconnaissance permit being converted into a mining lease, thanks to the extremely tortuous
processes involved (see box for an indicative list). The entire process takes between three and
four years, says Sharma, against a little over a year in Australia and Canada. Flowcharts
prepared by FIMI show far more complicated procedures to get reconnaissance permit,
prospecting licence and mining lease.
An application for a prospecting licence has to pass through at least 77 desks of various
government offices, with the time spent on each ranging from one to five days to above 20
days. In addition, there are 34 steps that need to be taken for acquiring forest land and over 20
steps for getting environmental clearance (with no guarantee that the clearance will be given) as
well as public hearings before the state pollution control boards. But the brouhaha over value-
addition by mineral-rich states cannot be wished away. The latest victim to fall prey to such a
policy - dubbed as ‘iron ore fundamentalism’ by steel companies - is been Jindal Steel’s
planned integrated steel plant in West Bengal, linked to the iron ore proposed to be mined in
Jharkhand.
West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has held three rounds of talks with
his counterpart in Jharkhand, Arjun Munda, pleading the case of the Jindal steel project and has
also appealed to the Union steel ministry. But neither Jharkhand, Orissa or Chhattisgarh - three
states with huge iron ore reserves - appear willing to see reason. The same issue had been
raised when Korean steel major Pohang Steel Company (Posco) decided to set up its $12-
billion, 3 million-tonne steel project in Orissa. Officials at Tata Steel, SAIL and Ispat Industries
have pointed out that the location of a plant should be a commercial decision. Sharma points

53
out that it makes economic sense to process some minerals and metals, like gold, closer to the
mine, because of the low content in the ore. However, because of the high content of iron and
bauxite in the ore, steel and aluminium manufacturers don’t mind transporting the ore long
distances to their plants. The buzz in the mining industry and the government is that some steel
companies are themselves behind this condition, because it gives them monopoly over the iron
ore reserves in the state where they have operations. Captive mining of iron ore is far cheaper
than buying from the market - the price difference can be as much as Rs 1,700 per tonne. The
noble intentions behind the value-addition stipulation - employment generation within the state
- rings a bit hollow since the country’s total iron ore mining capacity — 130-140 million tonnes
a year — is far more than what is consumed domestically (see table). Indeed, there has been a
54% rise in iron ore exports during April-July 2005, over the same period last year.
That’s because exports are far more lucrative than domestic sales. Demand from Chinese
steel plants, with aggregate installed capacities of 300 million tonnes, have pushed up
international prices of iron ore fines to stratospheric levels of around $70 per tonne (f.o.b), far
above what any mine owner can hope to realise from domestic sale. But with the issue being
politicised, clearly, this is going to be an extremely ticklish issue. The National Mineral Policy,
says Sharma, currently concentrates only on regulations, but should now focus on development
of the minerals sector. Clearly, the Hoda committee has its task cut out.
[Source: http://dnaindia.com]

Jharkhand to set up apex Technical University

November 03, 2005: The Jharkhand government has decided to set up a technical university
which would co-ordinate and monitor the working of all the existing engineering, polytechnics
and other technical institutions in the state. The proposed university would be located at
Mosabani in East Singhbhum district. Vacant land was available there after the ailing the public
sector Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) moved out. The Jharkhand government recently
reposssessed the vacant land allotted to HCL many years ago. Initially, the state government
planned to build a police training centre there. Later, the proposal for the technical university
was developed by the planners in the science and technology department. When the planners
sought land from the state's home department for the proposed technical university, it was
decided to use the part of the land for the university and the rest for the police academy. An
official source told Business Standard that the proposed technical university would be built on
about 20 acres. The rest of the land would be used for setting up the police training centre.
Source said the proposed university would be financed by the state government and would
enjoy full autonomy. It would be controlling, regulating and supervising all the existing
engineering, polytechnics and other technical institutions in the state. He said the proposed
university would follow the guidelines of the All India Council of Technical Education
(AICTE) and other appropriate authorities in the field of technical education. The source said
the working pattern, status, rules and regulations for the proposed university would be finalised
after detailed study of such existing apex technical institutions in the country. In a parallel
move, Tata Steel recently adopted an initiative to assist the Jharkhand government to train
nearly 30,000 junior technicians. The company would help the state in strengthening and
renovating the state-run polytechnics and industrial training institutes to produce 30,000
qualified technical persons. At present, Jharkhand had nine polytechnics, three mining
institutes, and 20 industrial training institutes. These institutions produced 3,500 technicians in
total every year.

54
 [Source: http://www.business-standard.com]

SAIL back with crores for more Coal - Upgrade of two IISCO Mines in Dhanbad
and new Mining on Drawing Board
Jamshedpur, Oct 27, 2005: Steel Authority of India (SAIL) continues to make investments in
the mining sector in Jharkhand.SAIL has now decided to pump in Rs 1,000 crore more to
expand three coalmines of the Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO) to enhance coal
production. Of these three coalmines, two are located in the Dhanbad district of the state. The
announcements today came in the footsteps of its previous plans made nearly a year ago, to
invest to the tune of nearly Rs 2,000 crore to boost iron ore production at the IISCO managed
Chiriya and Gua mines in West Singhbhum. IISCO, a subsidiary of SAIL, is presently in the
process of being merged with the parent company. Some time back, the Centre had announced
the merger of IISCO with SAIL. IISCO’s two coalmines in the state are located at Chasnala and
Jitpur areas of Dhanbad district. The other IISCO coalmine is based at Ramnagar in Kulti, West
Bengal. “SAIL’s major investments in the coalmines shall be made to upgrade the coalmines in
Jharkhand. The coalmine at Ramnagar is a small one compared to the two mines located in the
Jharkhand state,” sources informed The Telegraph.
SAIL sources added that the public sector giant has planned to boost the coal production
of the three mines from the present 0.4 million tonnes to one million tonne per annum. “The
expansion would take place phase-wise at Chasnala, Jitpur and Ramnagar,” SAIL officials said,
adding that the public sector plant has plans to increase the production of coal in these three
mines by 2011-12. Senior SAIL officials said that a team of mining experts from Russia has
been engaged to chalk out the expansion programme for Chasnala. “Although Chasnala
coalmines have rich deposits of the mineral, mining in this location is difficult, mainly due to
different technical reasons. The experts shall carry out an extensive study of the Chasnala mine
and suggest to the company officials various measures and the use of different sophisticated
machinery to undertake mining,” an IISCO official stated. It was also learnt that steps are being
taken to start mining in Tarsa area near Chasnala. “The Tarsa area, too, has vast deposits of
coal. Although that zone is under the lease area of the company, there has been no mining
activity in that zone so far. But the company has decided to start mining in that area also,”
sources informed. The chief of corporate communication of IISCO, Bhaskar Kumar, admitted
that SAIL had planned to make investments in the IISCO coalmines to increase production.
“But the quantum of investments have not been decided yet. The proportion of investments
would depend on the suggestions of the experts,” Kumar added. But insiders of SAIL said that
the state-owned steel company has definite plans to make investments to the tune of Rs 1,000
crore to expand IISCO’s coalmines. Recently, the SAIL chairman, V.S. Jain, visited IISCO’s
unit and held discussions about the expansion programme. IISCO officials even made a
detailed presentation to Jain on how to undertake the expansion exercise,” SAIL officials
added.
[Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com]

Montek gets it Wrong

Zero import duties highly distortionary
October 24, 2005: Planning Commission chief Montek Singh Ahluwalia wants zero-duty
imports of coal and crude oil, to shore up supplies, rev up efficiencies and realign price, etc.
The result would be just the opposite. Nil duty on some imports would merely mean a wholly

55
avoidable policy of discretion, of playing favourites and picking winners. Instead, surely, what
we need is low, uniform tariffs across sectors. Mr Ahluwalia says duties are usually policy
considerations, not a revenue issue. Actually, in high-volume sectors like oil and gas, duties do
have clear revenue implications. Further, slashing the duty on crude to nil while keeping that
for oil products unchanged, would further distort the duty regime with needlessly excessive
protection for oil products. High effective tariff walls imply much scope for padded, monopoly
prices and unearned rents. Already, the expert panel on energy of the Planning Commission has
expressly called for doing away with the duty differential between crude and products. The
existing duty on crude needs to remain pegged at 5%, while that for products ought to be
halved to the same level as well. This would bring down the extant high levels of effective
protection for petro-products in India, wholly unjustified given the quite minimal value added
in refining.
As for coal, we do need to continue with the existing rate of 5% duty, for balance. Zero-
duty imports may not really boost supplies, given the infrastructural bottlenecks in sourcing
coal from overseas. In any case, given the moribund finances of the power sector, the main
consumer of coal, there would be precious little scope for realigning domestic coal prices with
international rates without root and branch power sector reforms. Mr Ahluwalia has, rightly,
called for promptly ending the public sector monopoly on coal mining and evacuation. It has,
for long years, led to a huge investment backlog and growing shortages too, despite the fact that
we have one of the highest reserves anywhere. Clearly, in coal, our most abundant fuel source,
we can no longer sit on our haunches.
[Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com]

Central Scanner on Illegal Mining

Ranchi, Oct. 23, 2005: 2005 Bad days are ahead for illegal miners in the state, as the Union
mines ministry is all set to crack the whip on the unlawful business. At a meeting called by the
Union mines ministry in Delhi on October 25 to discuss the growth of illegal mining,
Jharkhand mines secretary A.K. Singh said is expected to come up with suggestions to prevent
illegal mining of coal and iron in this state. Singh told The Telegraph the suggestions will
include empowerment of the deputy commissioners to dispose of seized illegal coal, vehicles
and equipment used and also endowing the state’s mining officials with special executive
powers to take action against those caught in illegal mining or sale of illegal coal. Task forces
at the state and district levels have been set up and the state will install weighbridges and
computers and make weighing compulsory so that excess coal is not transported, Singh said.
Welcoming the initiative of the Union mines ministry on illegal mining, the state officials
said: “Most of the labourers working in illegal mines live closer to the coal mines. Besides,
poverty and the lack of employment compels them to take up the job, and despite the risks
involved, they enter the abandoned mines to extract coal for a pittance.” Each labour gets paid
in ratio to coal extracted by him and a “good worker” gets paid around Rs 100 to Rs 150 for a
day’s work, the sources said. But, tragically, whenever a miner dies in accident in the mines,
the mafia’s men whisk away his body, so that the families of the victims of illegal mining are
saved from the police, the sources said. It happened even in the illegal mining accident at
Rajrappa on September 29. Some bodies of the dead workers were whisked away and slippers
and shoes were removed from the accident site even before the rescue operations could get
underway.J.N. Singh, former director in Coal India’s Western Coalfields Limited said after the
September 29 accident: “No one is addressing the real problems. Instead, some FIRs are filed

56
and then the illegal mining game continues to exist.” Singh is now the secretary of Coal Mines
Retired Executives Association. The sources said the authorities, while taking action against the
illegal miners, should keep in mind another important aspect of the whole affair: “the nexus
between the coal mafia, police, politicians and the coal officials, which needs to be broken
urgently”.
[Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com]

Developing Fuel from Coal Alternative

Ranchi, October 22, 2005: With fuel prices touching a new high with each passing day, Indian
scientists are working day-night to develop alternative sources of fuel. The Central Mine
Planning And Design Institute (CMPDI) located in Ranchi in Bihar, is examining the
commercial feasibility of using coal as a viable source for extraction of petrol. Scientists of
CMPDI are trying to discover the most suitable variety of coal available for the extraction of
petrol. One variety of coal has been identified in Assam so far, which is suitable for the
purpose." Experiments have proved that the coal of Assam is very good for hydro carbon
extractions. They contain lots of Liptinites as compared to other coals in Australia and
European countries," said H.K. Mishra, a Scientist at CMPDI. The scientist fraternity is hopeful
that with the commercialisation of such a project, the country would also save billions of
dollars, which it spends on importing oil. A substantial amount of the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) is earmarked for the import of crude oil and petroleum-based products. Diesel accounts
for about 40 per cent of the refined products sold in India. The country imports 70 per cent of
its crude oil requirement for its 17 refineries that can process 2.3 million barrels per day. The
Sasol underground coalmines are the biggest underground coal-mining complex in the world
producing 34 million tons of coal annually, which is converted into fuels and chemicals.
Almost 31 per cent of South African fuel consumption is made available with this method.
[Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com]

Ahluwalia favours De-Nationalization of Coal Sector

October 20, 2005: Planning Commission Deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on
Wednesday favoured de-nationalizing of the coal sector and opening it for private investment.
He also advocated for 0% import duty on coal and crude oil.” I am in favour of zero per cent
import duty on coal and crude oil if there is no argument for protection," Ahluwalia has been
quoted as saying. Referring to coal as a primary energy source of the country in view of the
scarcity in availability of oil and gas, he said the domestic coal prices should be aligned with
the international price regime. While addressing the inaugural session of the 'coal summit', he
said, "Internationally, domestic prices are always aligned with the international prices. It has to
be done here also. Maybe not immediately, but sometime later as there would be huge deficit
which I do not think the Finance Ministry would be willing to accommodate in the budget.” I
know, domestic players may not be happy with the end of the protection but there is no
rationale to continue with it," he added. He further said this would also put pressure on the
domestic producers and a reduced import duty would help bring more efficiency to the sector,
besides stabilizing prices as "duties are not generally a policy consideration but a revenue
consideration."
[Source: http://www.indiainfoline.com]

57
India Coal Summit-2005 on 19th-20th Oct in New Delhi
October 17, 2005: Coal, the most important fossil fuel in India is vital for its energy security.
Coal, presently meeting the bulk of (60%) India’s energy requirement is affordable, reliable,
abundantly available and safe to transport. Future economic growth critically depends on the
long-term availability of coal in ever increasing quantities. Indian economy is on the top swing
with growth rate clocking over 6% annually and is expected to reach higher levels. In order to
sustain such a high growth rate there is an urgent need to increase the supply of energy in the
coming decades. Considering the limited reserve potentiality of petroleum and natural gas, eco-
conservation restriction on hydel projects and geo-political perception of nuclear power, coal
will continue to occupy the centre stage of India’s energy scenario. With hard coal reserves
around 246 billion tones, of which 92bn tones are proven, Indian coal offers a unique eco-
friendly fuel source to domestic market for the next century and beyond. Since 1990, coal
consumption has increased at a rate of around 5% per year. The current consumption of coal in
India is 360 MMt out of which 75% is being consumed for power generation. The electric
power generation capacity in India is planned to double in the coming decade, bulk of which
will be coal based. The coal demand is expected to increase from the current 360 MMt per year
to 617 MMt at the end of the XIIth five year plan (2016-17).
In order to meet the stupendous growth, there is need to draw a sustainable roadmap for its
growth firming up its requirement in fiscal, technological and environmental areas. So far,
public sectors had been contributing almost all the requirement of coal. Attempts to bring in
private sector over the last decade have not made much head way leading to significant growth
of coal imports. Against this backdrop, The India Energy Forum, the Mining Geological &
Metallurgical Institute of India and Indian Coal Forum are organizing the India Coal Summit-
2005 to address the critical issues for increasing indigenous coal availability in the country. The
objective is to focus attention on the Key Development Issues impacting the pace of
development of coal sector in India. To discuss ways for meeting the challenges of
competitiveness in coal sector through innovative approaches in management practices,
application of technology, environment protection. The Summit will also catalogue. Initiatives
required for overcoming the impediments and increasing the Indian & Foreign investment in
the coal Industry.
Key Issues:
The Summit will discuss Key Issues impacting the sector including Policy Framework,
Exploration and Conservations, Technical Options for mining industry both underground and
opencast, washing and beneficiation, coal gasification, CBM, Environmental and Social issues,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policies, musters perspectives equipment availability and
utilization, consumers perspectives, research and development, safety and training.
[Source: http://www.indiainfoline.com/]

Steps to ensure Safety in Coal Mines

Friday, October 07, 2005: Coal mining is considered world over as a hazardous profession.
With constant stress upon safety, there has been a steady improvement in safety performance
over the years. The number of fatal accidents in coal mines in the country has come down from
222 in 1975 to 90 in 2004. Fatalities have come down from 664 to 99 during the same period.
In case of Coal India Limited (CIL), the fatality rate which was 2.62 per million tonne of coal
production and 0.52 per three lakh man shifts in the year 1975 has been brought down to 0.22

58
and 0.20 respectively in the year 2004. Number of fatalities has come down from 105 in 2001
to 70 in 2004. In respect of Singareni Collieries Company Limited, fatalities have come down
from 25 in 2001 to 14 in 2004. In the current year, 54 persons have been killed in accidents till
the end of July in respect of CIL and 9 case of Singareni. Safety has been integrated into
process of coal mining and plants have institutional arrangement to keep vigil and monitor all
aspects of safety in coal mines at various levels. Participation of workers' representatives is
ensured at all levels of safety monitoring. The Government is promoting a number of other
initiatives to promote safety awareness. These are : Conference on Safety in mines, Workers'
participation in safety management, tripartite and bipartite reviews at various levels, training of
work force, observance of safety weeks and safety campaigns and National Safety Awards. To
reduce accidents in underground mines, modern technologies are being adopted. These include
providing scientific roof support systems, increased use of roof bolting and roof stitching
methods, introduction of modern mechanized drilling machines, mechanization of loading
operations through introduction of side discharge loaders, load haul dumpers to reduce
exposure of workers to mining hazards and introduction of highly capital intensive
computerized continuous mine environmental tele-monitoring system.
[Source: http://pib.nic.in]

SAIL to help BCCL Upgrade Mine

Kolkata, October 4, 2005: Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), a Coal India subsidiary, has tied
up with Steel Authority of India Ltd for funding mechanisation in its underground Moonidih
mine to boost production of coking coal. “Funds of over Rs 300 crore have tied up with Sail for
induction of two powered support long wall face in the Moonidih mine,” BCCL chairman-cum-
managing director Mr Partha S Bhattacharyya told us here. In the first phase Sail would provide
Rs 166 crore and Rs 145 crore would be given by the steel major in the second, he said. The
production of 1.2 million tonne of coking coal from Moonidih mine would be supplied to Sail,
he said. Global tenders have been floated for induction of the first package by 2007-08, he said.
Talks were also underway with Sail and Tata Steel for developing Kapuria block through
underground mining as a joint venture, the BCCL chief said. Sail has also confirmed that the
company was holding talks with BCCL for developing the mining block to ensure supply of
coking coal for its steel plants. With rapid increase in the prices of imported coking coal since
last year, BCCL, he said, had leveraged this opportunity to internalise a higher price for its
washed coking coal supplies to the steel sector. Given the condition prevailing in the market for
imported coal, Sail and BCCL have agreed to differentially price the prime washed coking coal
and create for it a margin of around 22 per cent over medium washed coking coal.
[Source: http://www.thestatesman.net]

Environment & Forests Minister’s Statement on the outcome of Climate Change

Negotiations held in Montreal, Canada
December 20, 2005: The following is the statement made by Thiru A. Raja, Union
Environment & Forests Minister, in the Parliament on the outcome of Climate Change
Negotiations held in Montreal, Canada: “The 11th Meeting of Conference of Parties (COP-11)
of the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 1st
Meeting of Parties (MOP-1) of the Kyoto Protocol was held in Montreal from 28th November
to 9th December 2005.This Conference was a landmark event as it formally adopted various
decisions popularly known as Marrakech Accord. This ensures that the Kyoto Protocol is now
up and running. The Indian delegation played an important role in drafting the decision

59
providing further guidance relating to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The prompt
start projects/activities that commenced in the period between 1 January 2000 and 18
November 2004 and have not yet requested registration but have either submitted new
methodology or have requested validation by a designated operational entity by 31st December
2005 can now request retroactive credits after they are registered by the CDM Executive Board
by 31st December 2006. Earlier this deadline was 31st December 2005. Another favourable
aspect of this decision has been new eligibility of programme based CDM activities. This
ensures that many more CDM projects from India would be able to register with the CDM
Executive Board. It may be worthwhile to mention that currently India is the global leader in
generating CDM projects and has accorded Host Country Approval to 203 CDM projects,
which are expected to generate 195 million Certified Emission Reduction Units (CERs) and
envisage an investment of Rs. 14,765 crore in the country.
Another important decision of this conference was to consider further commitments for
developed country parties included in Annex 1 for the period beyond 2012 in accordance with
Article 3, Paragraph 9 of the Kyoto Protocol. An open-ended ad-hoc working group of parties
to the Kyoto Protocol has been established to ensure that there is no gap between the first and
second commitment periods. The meeting also approved a five-year programme of work of the
Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) on impacts, vulnerability
and adaptation to climate change. During the Conference, many countries both developed and
developing pressed for further “broad basing” of GHG abatement commitments. Our delegation
was able to moderate this demand for inclusion not only of non-Kyoto developed countries like
the USA, but also fast growing developing countries like India, China and Brazil to a dialogue
on long-term cooperative action to address climate change, rather than negotiations on new
commitments, by enhancing implementation of the Convention. This dialogue without
prejudice to any future negotiations, commitments, process, framework or mandate under
Convention and with the explicit provisions that it will not lead to negotiations for new
commitments, is meant to exchange experiences and analyze strategic approaches for long-term
cooperative action to address climate change that includes the following areas: -
(a) Advancing development goals in a sustainable way (b) Addressing action on adaptation (c)
Realizing the full potential of technology (d) Realizing the full potential of marked-based
opportunities.
During my participation in the high-level segment of the Conference, I emphasized that
despite 8 per cent annual GDP growth, which we hope to attain in the near future, and which is
the absolutely essential to sustain if we have to succeed in alleviating mass poverty in our
lifetime, it will be many decades before India’s per capita GHG emissions approach anything
close to the current world average. While emphasizing that our first and overriding priority is
economic and social development and poverty eradication, our delegation at the Conference
maintained that India took its responsibilities and commitments under the Framework
Convention very seriously and is committed to pursue the path of sustainable development.
Further that we were actively pursuing policies, which are designed to control, reduce or
prevent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases in sectors such as energy, transport,
industry and forestry. Our stand at the Conference drew considerable appreciation and support,
particularly from other developing countries. The issues related to the Asia-Pacific Partnership
on Clean Development and Climate, which is complementary to the Kyoto Protocol, were also
discussed at the official level on the sidelines of the Montreal Conference. In January next year,
the Partners will adopt the Charter and the Work Program of this Partnership. The issue of

60
climate change is very important and we are taking necessary action meeting with the
associated political, scientific and economic challenges”.
[Source: http://pib.nic.in/]

Kofi Annan awarded UAE Environment Prize

Dubai, December 20: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has been awarded the United Arab
Emirates' $1 million Zayed environment prize along with ecology activists and scientists,
organisers said on Monday. The jury cited Annan's efforts "to catalyse political and public
opinion to an understanding that the environment is a fundamental pillar of sustainable
development”. The jury also honoured the 1,360 scientists who helped prepare the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment, compiled by UN agencies and other groups, and activists from
Trinidad and Tobago and Indonesia, the Use’s WAM news agency said. Previous winners of
the prize, established in honour of the UAE's late President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-
Nahayan, include former US President Jimmy Carter and the British Broadcasting Corporation.
[Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com]

Cement Industry turning Green but needs to do more

New Delhi, December 16, 2005: Leading environmental NGO Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) has awarded the Indian cement industry its "Three Green Leaves" rating
for reducing pollution but feels it needs to clean up its mining practices. Only one company -
Madras Cement Limited's Alathiyur Works near Chennai - has been awarded the prestigious
"Four Leaves Award", becoming the first Indian plant in India to receive this honour. The
Gujarat plant of Gujarat Ambuja Cement Limited bagged the second spot, while the third spot
was shared by three companies - JK Lakshmi Cement Limited, Prism Cement Limited and
ACC's Gagal Cement Works.” The sector has scored high because of the initiatives it has taken
to reduce its air pollution and the fact that it is today one of the world's most energy-efficient
cement producers," said CSE director Sunita Narain here Friday. The rating report released by
eminent scientist M.S. Swaminathan revealed some of the top players were not doing too well
on controlling pollution levels. Grasim Industries Limited of Aditya Birla group, which has 22
percent of the market share of this booming industry, was rated mediocre by CSE. The next
biggest company, the prestigious Associated Cement Companies (ACC) Limited, now jointly
owned by multinational Holcim and India's Ambuja Group, scored less than 35 percent marks
as a group.
However, the group's Gagal plant located in Himachal Pradesh was rated India's third best
plant. Privately owned India Cements Limited, the fourth largest cement seller in the country,
was given the lowest rank. Global cement leader Lafarge could only manage the sixth position.
With an installed capacity to make 163 million tonnes and with actual production of about 125
million tonnes, India's cement industry is the second largest in the world. It accounts for 6.1
percent of global production. CSE's rating was done on the basis of a study covering 41 top
producers and comprising 80 percent of the sector. In comparison with CSE's earlier rating of
the pulp and paper, chlor-alkali and automobiles industries, the cement industry scored higher
marks.” While the (cement) industry has earned credit for reducing energy use and pollution, it
has been indicted for its bad mining practices. The fact is that India's cement industry spends as
little as four percent of its turnover on the cost of its raw material - limestone," Narain said.
Limestone mining is leading to huge environmental problems, including the depletion of
groundwater, the CSE study found. Said Narain: "Since mining regulations in the cement

61
industry are poor, the sector is increasingly becoming a major source of pollution.” Rules on
the location of mines are so poorly implemented that many mines are located close to wildlife
sanctuaries and reserve forests. The CSE study found 44 percent of mines were located in
ecologically sensitive areas. As 90 percent of limestone mining in India is done by blasting,
"this means more noise, vibration and dust", said Narain. She also called for better waste
management through larger use of fly ash for production of cement. "The industry should
utilize as much as 40 percent of the total fly ash generated and solve a major waste disposal
problem. But today they are using only 12 percent."
[Source: http://news.webindia123.com]

Fly Ash should be treated as a resource, says Oscar Fernandes

New Delhi, December 12, 2005: "If people can be convinced that use of fly ash can reduce the
time for making the concrete, provide more solidity and reduce costs, the day is not far off
when India would be able to utilise all 100 million tomes of fly ash produced by it as building
material." This was stated by Oscar Fernandes, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for
Statistics and Programme Implementation, Youth Affairs and Sports and Overseas Indian
Affairs at the inauguration of the two day National Conference on High Volume Fly-ash
Concrete organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and CANMET here today.
Addressing the delegates attending the conference, Fernandes said that there was a time when
fly ash was considered a problem for environment and no one knew how to dispose it off. But
as the utility of fly ash as a substance that could provide solidity to construction material came
to be known, the realization has dawned that "it is a clear case of resource material" he said.
Highlighting the advantages of using fly ash Mr.Fernandes said that ultimately the main
concern for the common man was reducing costs and any material that could reduce costs even
by one rupee would be taken up by the people. Secondly, fly ash gave a better finishing and
finally it provided more solidity and durability to buildings and roads, he pointed out.
Fernandes said that one of the major drawbacks in using fly ash for making bricks was logistics
since it was difficult to carry it to the place where bricks are made. "If the question of distance
could be tackled the day is not far off when not only the 100 million tones of fly ash produces
annually would be fully utilized but people would start burning more coal to produce more fly
ash" he stated. Lucie Edwards, Canada's High Commissioner to India, pointed out that there
was a time when fly ash was considered not only a waste but a nuisance. She said that the
implementation of the High Volume Fly Ash Concrete (HVFAC) transfer technology project to
India jointly implemented by CII and CANMET has changed that perception. She said that
such projects were particularly relevant to India which was facing an energy crunch and the
added advantage was that use of fly ash also reduced threat to environment to a great degree.
Welcoming the delegates, Harshvardhan Neotia, Chairman CII National Committee on
Housing and Cement and Director, Gujarat Ambuja Cement, said that one of the key challenges
facing the concrete industry was "to meet economically and efficiently the enormous
infrastructure needs of a rapidly industrializing world.” He said that Portland cement which was
mostly used as construction material was relatively "green " material. " "However, the Ordinary
Portland Cement (OPC) is not so green because the production of each tonne of cement clinker
releases approximately similar amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. The current world
production of OPC is about 2 billion tonnes and account for five to seven percent of total CO2
emissions of 28 billion tones" he warned. In this respect he mentioned that India was producing
100 million tonnes of Fly Ash annually which was expected to reach 180 million tones by

62
2015. Disposal of fly ash was also a growing problem since only 12 percent of fly ash was
currently used, the remainder goes to land fill. He pointed out to a World Bank Report which
predicted that by 2015 disposal of fly ash would require 1000 square kilometers of land. He
said that even though a lot of research on fly ash had been started in India, construction with
HVFAC had yet to take off in India on a big scale. In this context he mentioned that a project
was jointly undertaken by CII along with International Center for Sustainable Development of
Cement and Concrete (ICON) CANMET, Canada, HVFAC at Canada Centre for Mineral and
Energy Technology CANMET in late 1980s, "which makes high performance concrete, by
partial replacement of cement with fly ash. This technology achieves the twin benefits of
reducing the amount of cement used and also provides an efficient mechanism for the disposal
of fly ash," he said. He said that in view of the enormous advantages, fly ash should actually be
considered as a resource material rather than an industrial waste and said that it had tremendous
business potential.
[Source: http://news.webindia123.com]

Mineral Policy to help boost Jharkhand’s Economy

New Delhi - 10 December, 2005: The Jharkhand government has made
it clear that it will not allow the State’s own iron ore to go
out from the State without value-addition. This is to be done to
ensure the development of the State’s economy based on mineral
resources. This is to be done to ensure the development of the
State’s economy based on mineral resources. As mineral-based
industries are the only USP for Jharkhand, it does not want to
sacrifice these resources succumbing to popular sentiment of the
non-iron ore bearing states. The State’s mineral policy has been
conveyed to the Prime Minister and the governments in the
neighbouring States as well as to prospective investors.
The Chief Secretary of the State, Mr P.P. Sharma, told
Business Line that the policy was well taken up by private
investors. In fact, the State Government has received about 20
investment proposals covering mines & minerals, power and hotel
industries. Of the total proposals received, MoUs have been
signed for five steel projects and one aluminia refining project
and two power projects. The other proposals are in advance
stages of consideration. Mr Sharma said prospective investors
had been asked to cooperate with the State Government towards
developing basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges,
technical schools and hospitals. He reminded that no major
investment took place in the Jharkhand region for the last 40
years. The region achieved statehood status only in 2000.
Therefore , one should not expect ready infrastructure like the
ones in the neghbouring states. However, he said the response
was good with the Tatas, the L.N. Mittal group and the Sajan
Jindal group agreeing to set up polytechnical schools for
training of local people.
[Source: Business Line]

CIL urges Centre for more teeth

Ranchi, December 09, 2005: Public sector Coal India Limited Chairman Shashi Kumar today
appealed to the Central government that the coal mining sector should immediately be declared

63
as infrastructure sector and the coal companies should be given more teeth to deal with its
affairs. Addressing the inaugural session of a two-day national seminar on coal-prospects and
challenges here in the Indian Institute of Coal Management, Mr Kumar said the coal companies
should have more power so that they could effectively deal with their affairs. Coal mining
should immediately be declared an infrastructure sector for getting additional benefits. There
should be no delay in it. Coal prices should be made totally market driven and a permanent
mechanism should be developed to make coal companies capable of acquiring land for their
projects, he said. Later addressing the seminar union secretary for coal P C Parakh said the coal
companies should strengthen themselves by better performance and utilisation of resources
rather than asking for more empowerment. '' Power cannot be sought rather it can be acquired
by strengthening oneself, '' he said. Mr Parakh also suggested that the CIL should invest its
huge profit reserves to foray into power and other mining sectors.
[Source: http://news.webindia123.com]

Health, Environment, Labour may get Third-Party Inspectors

New Delhi, Nov 09, 2005: The government is considering a proposal for allowing third party
inspectors, both public and private, for conducting mandated inspections in the health,
environment and labour sectors. According to a report prepared by the Planning Commission
for reducing the menace of inspector-raj, any public-private party certified by the quality
council of India, should be allowed to conduct inspections in addition to the government
designated inspectors. To ensure that the third-party inspectors are competent, the report has
suggested that they should adhere to strict quality norms including ISO 14001 and two
international standards. The proposal, which also includes suggestions for reducing bias in
conduct on income tax inspections, will be submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for
its consideration. Speaking to FE, officials said that the idea behind the proposal was to give
the industry the option to choose between government inspectors and third-party inspectors.” If
a particular unit is apprehensive that the government appointed inspector may not give a fair
report, it should have an option to fall back upon,” an official said.
[Source: http://www.financialexpress.com]

Alarm for Wildlife Habitat

New Delhi, Oct. 14, 2005: A leading NGO has expressed concern over Jharkhand
government’s plans to promote industrialisation and coal mining in areas that could lead to the
destruction of wildlife corridors in the state. This, believes the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI),
would not only fuel man-animal conflict, but also result in the decimation of regions rich in
bio-diversity. A report compiled by WTI says urgent measures are required to save the
corridors spanning the five districts of Palamau, Latehar, Chatra, Hazaribagh, Koderma, which
are also among the few surviving bio-diversity rich regions in the state. Wildlife corridors are
forest areas connecting two or more wildlife habitats, which are usually of one to two
kilometres in breadth and may extend up to several kilometres in length. The present study in
Jharkhand, which is part of a nationwide project on 88 corridors, has focused on this aspect of
conservation and the important contribution that corridors have on long-term conservation of
wildlife. Highlighting the new proposals for development in the region, the report pointed out
that Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) has plans of setting up 25 new coal mine blocks spread
across 1,175 sq. km in these five districts.” These new coal mines will average 300 feet in
depth and water tables will be drastically affected. The risk of storm-water pollution and the
run off from mines chemically polluting the Damodar River has incalculable threats

64
downstream. All these will be open-cast coal mines that will completely destroy the age-old
forests and wildlife corridors,” says the study, while elaborating on the adverse impact of
similar policies in adjoining areas in the Damodar Valley.
According to WTI, the situation is alarming since the existing laws do not permit
environmental impact assessments in the corridor areas. As a result, the proposed coal mines
would not have to get this vital clearance from the central ministry for setting up a new venture.
“Hence, at present it is only the individual responsibility of the companies to see that the
environment impact from such activities is reduced to a minimum. In the absence of this vital
piece of legislation, neither the Jharkhand Forest Department nor the coal mining companies
are directly liable,” the study says. The report, to be released next month, was prepared by
Hazaribagh-based Justin Imam, who is the documentation in-charge of Intach for the district. A
WTI official said copies would be forwarded to Project Elephant and other concerned
departments.
[Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com]

USER INTERFACE

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meaningful if keywords highlighting specific areas of interest are also given. An
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Reclamation.
SUBJECT ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS
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65
 Important Parliament Questions
Rajya Sabha unstarred Question No.2188 answered on 12.8.2005- Iron-Ore Production.
2188. Shri Surendra Lath: Shri Kripal Parmar:
Will the Minister of Steel be pleased to state:
a) the quantum of iron-ore produced during the last two years and the names of the
countries to which iron-ore was exported alongwith the quantum of such export to each
country;
b) whether it is a fact that some private sector companies like 'POSCO' have been permitted
to commission steel plant in the country with the guarantee of supply of iron-ore and also
with permission to export; and
c) if so, the reasons therefor in view of less production of iron-ore in the country as
compared to its requirement?
ANSWER
Minister of Chemicals & Fertilisers and Steel (Shri Ram Vilas Paswan)
(a) The production of iron ore during last two years is as mentioned below:
(Qty. in million tonnes)
Year Production
2003-04 (Provisional) 120.60
2004-05 (Estimated) 145.00
(Source: FIMI/IBM)

The details of export of iron ore to various countries are as below;

(Qty. in lakh tonnes)
Name of the Country 2003-04 2004-05 (Prov.)
China 420.59 593.99
Japan 131.00 111.31
S. Korea 21.45 21.78
Taiwan 8.80 6.08
Europe 24.70 28.90
Others 19.25 119.38
Total 625.79 781.45
(Source: MMTC)
(b)&(c): Government of some mineral rich states, like Orissa, have signed memorandums of
understanding (MOU) with steel companies which, inter-alia, includes an undertaking from the
state government for grant of prospecting licenses and mining leases of iron ore for captive use.

66
This reflects the desire of these states to use their natural resources for their rapid
industrialization. Normally, the undertaking to grant mining leases, would stipulate the use of
the iron ore only for captive purposes. In the specific case of POSCO, the MOU signed
between Government of Orissa and the company, only envisages limited swapping of high
alumina content iron ore with low alumina content iron ore of equal quantity on a net nil export
basis within the framework of the applicable Export-Import Policy of the Government. No
reserve of iron ore for the purpose of direct export is provided for in the MOU. Further the
production of iron ore has always been more than the demand/requirement of iron ore in the
country.
(Business Information Bureau, New Delhi - 18.8.2005)

Rajya Sabha unstarred Question no. 2755 answered on 22 August, 2005 - Leasing out of
Iron Ore Mines
2755 Shri Ajay Maroo:
Will the Minister of Mines be pleased to state:
a) whether Government have any information or figures regarding leasing out of iron ore
mines for mining purposes in Jharkhand;
b) if so, what are the details thereof; and
c) whether Government have issued any guidelines to the State Governments in this regard,
if so, what are the details thereof?
ANSWER
The Minister of Sate in the Ministry of Mines (Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao)
(a) & (b) : During the last three years, Central Government has approved the following
proposals received from State Government of Jharkhand for grant of mining lease for iron ore:-
SI. Name of applicant Name of Mineral Area/distt
No.
1. Shri Bachan Singh Iron ore 106.59 Acres, Latehar
2. M/s Usha Martin Industries Iron Ore & Manganese ore 383.20
Ltd.
3. M/s. Balaii Industries Iron Ore & Manganese ore 420.95 Acres, West
Products Ltd. Singhbhum
4. M/s Prasad Group Iron Ore & Manganese ore 275.23 Acres, West
Resources Pvt. Singhbhum Ltd.
5. M/s Niranjan Hi-Tech Ltd. Iron Ore & Manganese ore 356.18 Acres, West
Singhbhum
6. M/s. AML Steel & Power Iron Ore & Manganese ore 383.54 Acres, West
Ltd. Singhbhum
(c) : The applications for grant of mining leases are received and processed by the State
Government concerned following the provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development and
Regulation) Act, 1957 and Rules made there under which prescribe detail procedure and
conditions for grant of mineral concessions. Only for a select number of minerals specified in
the First Schedule to the aforesaid Act, prior approval of the Central Government is required
before grant of mineral concessions by the State Governments. Even in cases of prior approval,

67
the grant of mining lease and execution of lease deed with the lease-holder is done by the
concerned State Government as per the laid down procedure under the Act and the Rules
framed there under.
(Business Information Bureau, New Delhi - Issue No. 14,20(15)

Lok Sabha unstarred Question No. 3869 answered on 22.8.2005 - Permission for Iron Ore
Projects in Maharashtra
3869. Prof. Mahadeorao Shiwankar:
Will the Minister of Steel be pleased to state:
a) whether the Union Government has granted permission for iron ore projects in
Maharashtra pending for clearance;
b) if so, the details thereof;
c) if not, the date by which the permission is likely to be granted;
d) whether any assessment regarding the excavation of iron ore in tones per annum; and e) if
so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
Minister of Chemicals & Fertilisers and Steel (Shri Ram Vilas Paswan)
(a) to (c): Central Government has conveyed prior approval in respect of the following
proposals for grant of mining lease for iron ore in Maharashttra since 1.4.2002 till date:
S.No. Name of applicant Area/Distt.
1. M/s Jayaswal Neco Ltd. 2.61 hects distt. Gondia
2. M/s Prakash Ramdeo Jaiswal 4.04 hects. Districtt Gondia
3. M/s Jayaswal Neco Ltd. 37.34 hects. District Gondia
4. M/s Nirmal Chand Jain 25.62 Acres district Gadchiroli
5. M/s Anju Mines Minerals & Chemicals Pvt Ltd. 512.00 hect district Gadchiroli
6. Shri Anoj Kumar Agarwal 12.00 hect, district Gadchiroli
7. Shri Ramesh Mahadeorao Rajkar Warora 8.00 hect district Gadchiroli
8. Shri Manoj Kumar Ajitsaria 4.00 hect district Gadchiroli
There are two proposals for grant of mining lease for iron ore which have been received from
State Government of Maharashtra seeking prior approval of the Central Government. It is not
possible to indicate any specific time frame for conveying the approval in respect of these two
proposals:
S.No. Name of the applicants Area/District Date of Receipt
1. M/s Minerals & Metals 51.79 hect District Sindhudurg 1.10.2004
2. M/s Gahra Minerals 4.63 hect District Chandrapur 1.10.2004
(d) &( e): As per the information available in Indian Mineral Year Book, 2004 the production
of iron ore in Maharashtra is shown below:
2001-02 33,000 tonnes
2002-03 36,000 tonnes
2003-04 (provisional) 35,000 tonnes
[Source: Business Information Bureau, New Delhi - Issue No. 14,2005)]

68
Lok Sabha unstarred Question No. 579 answered on 25 November, 2005 – Closure of
Mines
579. Shri Jaswant Singh Bishnoi:
Will the Minister of Mines be pleased to state:
(a) the number of mines that have been closed down in the country during the last three years,
State-wise specially in Rajasthan;
(b) whether the closed mines are likely to be revived;
(c) if so, the time by which it is likely to be revived; and
(d) if not, the reasons therefore?
Sl. Government Number of mines Number of mines Number of mines
No. closed in the year of closed in the year of closed in the year of
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
1. Andhra Pradesh 39 05 01
2. Assam 00 00 00
3. Bihar 02 02 61
4. Chhattisgarh 01 01 62
5. Goa 01 09 198
6. Gujarat 27 48 06
7. Haryana 103 00 00
8. Himachal Pradesh 00 00 00
9. Jammu & Kashmir 00 00 00
10. Jharkhand 01 12 175
11. Karnataka 01 00 07
12. Kerala 00 00 02
13. Maharashtra 00 00 73
14. Manipur 00 00 00
15. Meghalaya 00 00 00
16. Madhya Pradesh 02 00 93
17. Orissa 00 00 00
18. Rajasthan 144 21 127
19. Tamil Nadu 00 00 01
20. Uttar Pradesh 00 00 00
21. Uttaranchal 02 00 00
22. West Bengal 00 00 00
Total 323 98 806
[Source: Business Information Bureau, New Delhi –29 November,2005)]

69
 Environmental Clearances
The information on the mining projects accorded environmental clearance is given below:
State Project Details Received on Approved on
Chhattishgarh .
Project No: J-11015/95/2003-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Chotia-II Captive Coal Mine Project , ML
31/12/2004 16/11/2005
Area: 410.982 ha Prod. Cap.: 0.25 MTPA
Agency: M/s Prakash Inds. Ltd.
Project No: J-11015/96/2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Chotia-I Captive Coal Mine Project, ML
31/12/2004 16/11/2005
Area: 1101.043 haProd. Cap.: 0.751 MTPA
Agency: M/s Prakash Inds. Ltd.
Goa
Project No: J-11015/103/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Dudhal (Culnaoril Sido) Iron Ore Mine of 19/03/2005 17/11/2005
M/s V.S.Dempo & Co. Pvt. Ltd., South Goa
Project No: J-11015/155/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Curpem Iron & Manganese Ore Mine of 07/04/2005 17/11/2005
M/s V.S.Dempo. & Co. Pvt Ltd., Dist. South Goa
Project No: J-11015/156/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Collemba Iron Ore Mine of M/s 07/04/2005 17/11/2005
V.S.Dempo. & Co. Pvt Ltd., Dist. South Goa
Project No: J-11015/169/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Vichundram Iron Ore Mine of Mr. Nakul
16/06/2005 17/11/2005
alias Gurudas Hiru Gauns (formerly M/s Hiru Bombo
Gauns) , Dist. South Goa
Project No:J-11015/43/2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Sancordem Malpona Mine of M/s 01/03/2005 17/11/2005
V.M.Salgaocar & Bros. Pvt. Ltd. North Goa
Project No: J-11015/44/2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Surla Sonshi Iron Ore Mine of M/s V.S. 02/03/2005 17/11/2005
Dempo & Co. Pvt. Ltd. North Goa
Project No: J-11015/45/2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Bicholim Iron Ore Mines of M/s Dempo 02/03/2005 17/11/2005
Mining Corp. Pvt. Ltd. North Goa
Project No: J-11015/60/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Kirlapale Iron Ore Mine of Smt. 11/03/2005 11/11/2005
Ahilyabhai Sardesai, South Goa
Project No: J-11015/59/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Santonachi Upri Mine of M/s Zarapkar & 11/03/2005 28/10/2005
Parkar, ML Area: 98.3095 ha, Prod. Cap.: 0.5 MTPA
Project No:.J-11015/58/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Odamolla Iron Ore Mine, ML Area: 11/03/2005 28/10/2005
85.72 ha Prod. Cap.: 0.75 MTPA; Agency:M/s Sova
Project No:J-11015/100/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Bimbol (Huldul Dongar) Iron Ore Mine 19/03/2005 28/10/2005
of Sh. G.N.Agarwal, Dist. South Goa
Project No:J-11015/158/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Collem Iron Ore Mine of Shri Prafulla 08/04/2005 26/10/2005
Kumar Hede, Dist. South Goa

70
 Project No: J-11015/161/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Bondra Advona Iron Ore Mine of M/s 08/04/2005 20/10/2005
Panduronga Timblo Industries, Dist. South Goa
Project No: J-11015/27/2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Codli Iron Ore Mine of M/s Sesa Goa 18/02/2005 06/10/2005
Ltd., Dist. South Goa
Gujarat
Project No: J-11015/18/2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Tadkeshwar Lignite Mine, ML Area:
22/03/2004 20/10/2005
964.41 haProd. Cap.: 0.1 MTPA
Agency: M/s GMDC
Project No: J-11015/50/2003-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Chorbedi (Composite) Limestone mine 02/03/2005 07/10/2005
of Shree Digvijay Cement Co. Ltd., Dist. Jamnagar
Project No: J-11015/47/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Gop (Composite) Limestone mine of 02/03/2005 07/10/2005
Shree Digvijay Cement Co. Ltd., Dist. Jamnagar
Project No: J-11015/48/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Mokhana Limestone mine of Shree 02/03/2005 07/10/2005
Digvijay Cement Co. Ltd., Dist. Jamnagar
Project No: J-11015/49/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Pachhtar Limestone mine of Shree 02/03/2005 07/10/2005
Digvijay Cement Co. Ltd., Dist. Jamnagar
Himachal Pradesh
Project No: J-11015/07/2002-IA-II(M)
Project Name: Limestone Mining Project of M/s Harish
. 23/10/2001 15/09/2005
Cement Ltd., ML area: 725.855 haProd. Capacity:
3.2MTPA
Karnataka . . .
Project No: J-11015/125/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Sankalpuram Iron Ore Mine of M/s 23/03/2005 18/10/2005
R.B.Seth Sri ram Narsingdas
Project No: J-11015/146/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Siddapura Iron Ore Mine of M/s 23/03/2005 07/10/2005
P.Abubekar, Dist. Bellary
Project No: J-11015/118/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Jaisingpur Iron Ore Mine of M/s S.B.Minerals
23/03/2005 16/09/2005
Project No: J-11015/77/2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: H. Siddapur Iron Ore Mine, Prod.
05/01/2005 13/09/2005
Capacity: 0.65 MTPAML area: 27.12 ha
Agency: M/s Bellary Iron Ores Pvt. Ltd.
Project No:J-11015/68/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Mattapalli Limestone Mine of M/s NCL 15/03/2005 30/08/2005
Inds. Ltd., Dist. Nalgonda
Project No: J-11015/76/2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Siddapuram Iron Ore Mine, Prod.
05/01/2005 30/08/2005
Capacity: 0.60 MTPAML area: 20.24 ha
Agency: M/s Y. Mahabaleshwarappa & Sons
Madhya Pradesh . . .
Project No: J-11015/72 /2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Limestone Mine of M/s Vikram 19/04/2005 07/10/2005
Cements, Dist. Neemuch

71
 Orissa . . .
Project No: J-11015/87/2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Tiringpahar Manganese Ore Mine of 01/04/2005 17/11/2005
M/s Tata Steel, Dist. Keonjhar
Project No: J-11015/201/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Gonua Iron and Manganese Mining
16/05/2005 07/10/2005
project of M/s Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia (earlier name
Smt. Maitri Shukla), District Sundergarh
Project No: J-11015/41/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Expansion of Thakurani Iron Ore Mine 01/03/2005 07/10/2005
of M/s Kaypee Enterprises, Dist. Keonjhar.
Rajasthan . . .
Project No: J-11015/15/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Rajshree Limestone Mine-II , ML Area:
28/01/2005 17/11/2005
400.07 ha, Prod. Cap.: 0.45 MTPA
Agency: M/s Grasim Inds. Ltd.
Project No: J-11015/16/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Rajshree Limestone Mine-I of M/s 01/02/2005 17/11/2005
Grasim Inds. Ltd., Nagaur
Project No: J-11015/75./2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Bondagaon Silica Sand Mine of M/s 25/04/2005 21/10/2005
Subhash Chand Mukesh Chand
Project No: J-11015/20/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Banesti-II Red Ochre and China Clay 04/02/2005 21/10/2005
Mine of M/s Mohd. Sher Khan Pathan., Dt. Chiitrogarh
Project No: J-11015/07/2004-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Gevariya Chainpura Asanmata & Bhagwasia 04/04/2005 04/10/2005
Mine of M/s Udaipur Mineral Dev. Syndicate Pvt. Ltd.
Tamil Nadu . . .
Project No: J-11015/192/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Periathirukonam Limestone Mine of M/s
12/07/2005 28/10/2005
Dalmia Cements Ltd., ML area – 61.635 ha Prod. Cap.
1.2 MTPA
Project No: J-11015/338/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: KLK-KVK Limestone Mine , ML area –
12/09/2005 24/10/2005
13.29 ha, Prod. Cap. 0.05 MTPA
Agency: M/s Dalmia Cements Ltd.
Project No: J-11015/339/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: KLK-KVK Limestone Mine, ML area –
12/09/2005 24/10/2005
166 ha, Prod. Cap. 1.0 MTPA
Agency: M/s Dalmia Cements Ltd.
Project No: J-11015/340/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: KLK-KVK Limestone Mine, ML area –
12/09/2005 24/10/2005
10.54 ha, Prod. Cap. 0.2 MTPA,
Agency: M/s Dalmia Cements Ltd
Project No: J-11015/185/2005-IA.II(M)
Project Name: Maravarperungudi Kankar Mining 03/05/2005 06/10/2005
project of M/s Madras Cement Ltd. District Virudhnagar.
[http://www.envfor.nic.in ]

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 SOME SELECTED REFERENCES
Vetiver Grass Technology: An Economical Bio-Reclamation Approach for Coal Overburden
Dumps
Nikhil Kumar, Sundararajan M., Birendra Kumar and Gupta Asha (2004). Proceedings of the National
Seminar on Environmental Engineering with special emphasis on Mining Environment, NSEEME. ENVIS
Accession Number: 5436.
Vetiver Grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) is planted for soil, water and air conservation. Vetiver grass
with its unique morphology, physiology and ecological characteristics including its tolerance to high levels
of heavy metals and adverse conditions has a key role in the area of environmental protection and land
rehabilitation. In this paper, it has been described in details about the growth and development of this
grass over coal overburden dumps. Moreover, it adds nutrients by its biomass and improves the physico-
chemical properties of the dumps to support the other species to come up. The percentages of the
increase in soil nutrients in both Mandamon and West Mudidih coal overburden dumps have been
compared using appropriate method. The techno-economical feasibility of Vetiver grass in various
applications has been studied. It has been concluded that the selecting vetiver grass species is the
economical bio-reclamation approach for the coal overburden dump.
Appropriate Strategies for Reclamation and Revegetation of Coal Mine Spoil Dumps
Juwarkar Asha A., Jambulkar Hemlata P. and Singh Sanjeev Kumar (2004). Proceedings of the National
Seminar on Environmental Engineering with special emphasis on Mining Environment, NSEEME-2004.
ENVIS Accession Number: 5428.
Open cast mining destroys the original land ecosystem and microbial community due to mining
activity and stockpiling of mine rejects on adjoining land. The landscapes that emerge are devoid of
supportive and nutritive capacity for biomass development. Several microbial processes such as nitrogen
and carbon cycling, humification and soil aggregation are practically nonfunctional posing scientific
challenges in the restoration of rhizosphere productivity and fertility. The degraded land does not posses
suitable surface soil to provide bedding layer for anchorage of plan and to support the biomass. Also the
plant growth is not supported due to presence of toxic materials Gradual increase in such landscapes due
to intensive mining activity endangers not only the agro forestry productivity but also the aquatic eco-
systems. The rejuvenation of mine spoil dump and mined land productivity and fertility through
amendment of organic material such as effluent treatment plant sludge a waste product of paper mill
industry, biofertilisers and endomycorrhizal fungi will unable restoration of the degraded land ecosystem
and helps to create luxuriant forests in the country providing substantial carbon dioxide sink vital for
biosphere integrity, build up of nutritive top soil and enhanced ground water recharge.
Prospects for Enhancing Carbon Sequestration and Reclamation of Degraded Lands with Fossil-
Fuel Combustion By-Products
Palumbo A.V., McCarthy J.F., Amonette J.E., Fisher L.S., Wullschleger S.D., and Daniels W. Lee (2002).
Advances in Environmental Research. ENVIS Accession Number: 4856.
Concern for the potential global change consequences of increasing atmospheric CO2 has prompted
interest in the development of mechanisms to reduce or stabilize atmospheric CO2. During the next
several decades, a program focused on terrestrial sequestration processes could make a significant
contribution to abating CO2 increases. The reclamation of degraded lands, such as mine-spoil sites,
highway rights-of-way, and poorly managed lands, represents an opportunity to couple C sequestration
with the use of fossil-fuel and energy by-products and other waste material, such as biosolids and organic

73
wastes from human and animal sewage treatment facilities, to improve soil quality. Degraded lands are
often characterized by acidic pH, low levels of key nutrients, poor soil structure, and limited moisture-
retention capacity. Much is known about the methods to improve these soils, but the cost of
implementation is often a limiting factor. However, the additional financial and environmental benefits of C
sequestration may change the economics of land reclamation activities. The addition of energy-related
by-products can address the adverse conditions of these degraded lands through a variety of
mechanisms, such as enhancing plant growth and capturing of organic C in long-lived soil C pools. This
review examines the use of fossil-fuel combustion by-products and organic amendments to enhance C
sequestration and identifies the key gaps in information that still must be addressed before these methods
can be implemented on an environmentally meaningful scale.
Reclamation of Mining-Generated Wastelands at Alkusha–Gopalpur Abandoned Open Cast
Project, Raniganj Coalfield, Eastern India
De Sahadeb and Arup Mitra K.. (2002) Environmental Geology 43:39–47. ENVIS Accession Number:
4651.
Biological reclamation on a 10-year-old mine spoil at Alkusha–Gopalpur, Raniganj Coalfield, Eastern
India was carried out during 1992. Effects have been measured yearly in terms of species suitability, spoil
chemical quality, and biodiversity of natural succession till 1997. It has been determined that out of 14
plant species selected for reclamation, the successful ones are Acacia auriculoformis, Acacia arabica,
Albizzia lebbek, Leucena leucocephala, and Gmelina arborea. Impaired pH, available mass nutrients (N,
P, K), organic carbon, exchangeable cations and cation exchange capacity have been found to increase
whereas trace elements have been found to decrease. There is an indirect relationship between the
survival percentage and trace element intake capacity of the planted saplings.
Soil Microbiological Properties 20 Years after Surface Mine Reclamation: Spatial Analysis of
Reclaimed and Undisturbed Sites
Mummey Daniel L., Stahl Peter D. and Buyer Jeffrey S. (2002). Soil Biology & Biochemistry 34: 717–
1725. ENVIS Accession Number: 4542.
Spatial characteristics of soil microbial community structure and selected soil chemical factors were
analyzed in soil surrounding Agropyron smithii (Western wheatgrass) and Artemisia tridentata (Wyoming
big sagebrush) plants in sites reclaimed after surface mining and adjacent undisturbed sites in Wyoming.
Microbial biomass C (MBC) and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) biomarkers for total biomass, bacteria,
and fungi were used as indicators of soil microbial community abundance and structure. In soil 20 years
after reclamation FAME total microbial biomass, bacterial and fungal biomarkers, MBC and soil organic
matter (SOM) averaged only 20, 16, 28, 44 and 36% of values found in undisturbed soils. In contrast to
undisturbed soils, FAME biomarkers and MBC of reclaimed soils exhibited spatial correlation up to 42 cm.
Reclaimed soils also exhibited localized enrichment of bacterial, fungal, and total microbial biomass, as
well as depletion of inorganic N concentrations, around plant bases (10 cm), suggesting relatively poor
soil exploration by roots and microorganisms compared to the undisturbed ecosystem. Strong spatial
stratification of undisturbed SOM and soil NH4þ pools was found with highest concentrations on the
leeward side of shrubs, likely due to localized changes in microclimate and plant litter deposition. This
indicates that shrub cover plays a central role in the establishment of site heterogeneity and regulation of
ecological processes, such as C and N mineralization and immobilization, which has important
implications for reclamation.

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 NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
11-15 January 2006: International Symposium on 'Environmental Issues of Mineral Industry' by VNIT Nagpur, Camborne
School of Mines & British Council; Contact: Prof. S.B. Shringarputale, Head - Dept. of Mining Engineering, VNIT, Nagpur -
440011. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +91-712-2222828, 2223710, Ext.1350; Fax: +91-712- 2223230, 2223969.
16-18 January, 2006: AMC 2006 1st Asian Mining Congress: Asian Mining-Towards a new Resurgence, Kolkata.
Organised by MGMI, to coincide with the Centenary Celebration of MGMI, AMC 2006 is being held at Kolkata. For further details
contact: Prof. A.K.Ghose, Chairman Centenary Celebration Committee, Sri L.K.Bose. Chairman-Technical Committee, Prof. S. C.
Ray, Convenor, Dr. D. Sarkar, Hony. Secretary MGMI: MGMI, GN-38/4, Salt Lake Sector-V, Kolkata 700 091, Ph: 033-23573482/
23573987; Fax: 033-22435653, email: [email protected].
30-31 January, 2006: Black Economic Employment & the New South Africa Coal Summit 2006 at Sheration Arabella, Cape
Town, South Africa, Contact: Georgina Lucey: Tel. +44 (O) 1730 265 095, Fax: +44(O) 1730 260 044, email: georgina
[email protected] or write to: McCloskey Coal Information Service, 2 pages Court, St. Peters Road, Petersfield, Hants,
GU32 3HX, UK.
9-10 February, 2006: INDIA MINING SUMMIT 2006 (Partner State Orissa), Hotel Swosti Plaza, Bhubaneswar (Orissa) Contact:
Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, 301, Bakshi House, 40-41, Nehru Place, New Delhi - 110 019 Tel: 91-11-
26410786/26410078/26214049; Fax: 91-11-26217004; e-mails: [email protected], [email protected]; Website:
www.fedmin.com.
2-4 March, 2006: National Seminar on the "Evaluation of Mineral Resources of India" Organised by Department of Geology,
Andhra University and Association of Economic Geologists of SAAEG, Visakhapatnam Regional Chapter; Contact: Prof.
C.V.Raman, Convenor, EMRI-2006, Department of Geology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam-530003, Andhra Pradesh; Tel:
0891-2844709(Off) 2500384(Res); e-mail: [email protected]
8-10 March, 2006: International Seminar on Mineral Processing Technology, Hotel Taj Coromandel, Chennai, Tamilnadu,
jointly organised by Indian Institute of Mineral Engineers, National Metallurgical Laboratory and Tata Steel Contact: Dr.
G. Bhaskar Raju / Dr. S. Prabhakar, National Metallurgical Laboratory - Madras Centre, CSIR Madras Complex, Taramani,
Chennai - 600 113, Tamilnadu; Tel: (044) 22542077/22542529; Fax: (044) 22541027; E-mail: [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected]
22-24 March, 2006: Electra Mining India 2006, Pragati Maidan Exhibition Center, New Delhi Jointly Organised by Inter Ads
India Limited, New Delhi and Montgomery International Ltd., London. Contact: Mr. Rajat Parashar, Inter Ads India Limited, 2
Padmini Enclave, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016; Tel:011-26861113/1114; Fax:011-26861112; Mobile: 9811844434; e-mail:
[email protected]
28-31 March, 2006: ASIA MINING CONGRESS 2006, Grant Hyatt, Singapore. Contact Terrapinn Pte Ltd., 12 Prince Edward
Road, # 03-01, Podium A, Bestway Building, Singapore 079212, Phone: 65-63222770. Fax: 6562233554, Website:
www.terarpinn.com/2005/mining_SG
8-10 April, 2006: 5th Annual International Conference on Occupational Health, Safety, Fire & Security, Hyderabad
organised by Greentech Foundation, New Delhi Contact: Mr. Kamaleshwar Sharan, President, Greentech Foundation, 811,
Vishwadeep Tower, District Centre, Janak Puri, New Delhi - 110 085 Tel: (011) 25593846, 25554739, 25540482; Fax: (011)
51588564; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.greentech.org
11-12 May, 2006: Symposium on New Equipment New Technology Management and Safety in Mines and Mineral based
Industries, Hotel Swosti Plaza, Bhubaneswar organised by Geominetch. Contact: Mr. J.K. Hota, Editor, Mineral Industry Journal
& Organising Secretary, Geominetech Symposium, LB 117, Bhimtangi, HB Colony, Bhubaneswar – 751 001, Orissa; Tel: 0674-
259324/9337300818/9337102333/; Fax: 0674-2592926; email: [email protected]; [email protected].
11-14 September 2006: Minerals, Metals, Metallurgy, Materials & Mining 2006, 6th International Trade Fair + Seminar,
Venue: Pragati Maidan, New Delhi; Support: The Indian Institute of Metal (Delhi Chapter) Organisers: TAFCON Group, C-60
Nizamuddin (East), New Delhi-110 013. Ph: 011-2435214/44/82/84; Fax: 011-24355215, 24354077; email:
[email protected].
October 2007: 5th International Conference on Fly Ash Utilisation and Disposal, Venue: New Delhi. For further details
contact: Central Board of Irrigation & Power, Malcha Marg, Chankyapuri, New Delhi 110 027. Ph: 011-2611 5984, 2611 6567,
2611 1294; Fax: 2611 6347; email: [email protected]/[email protected]/[email protected]; Website: www.cbip.org.

75
 Some Useful Links related to Research Institutions/Laboratories

Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) http://www.aripune.org

Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA) http://www.atira-tex-rnd.org
Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) http://www.dae.gov.in/amd/amd_home.htm
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) http://www.barc.ernet.in
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany http://www.bsip-india.org
Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) http://www.btraindia.com/
Bose Institute, Kolkata http://www.boseinstitute.org/
Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) http://powersearch.cpri.res.in
Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO) http://csio.nic.in
Central Soil and Materials Research Station (CSMRS) http://csmrs.nic.in
Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT) http://www.cat.gov.in
Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) http://www.cdac.in
Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) http://www.cdot.com
Centre for Liquid Crystal Research (CLCR) http://www.mit.gov.in/clcr.asp
Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) http://www.cmetindia.org
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) http://www.csir.res.in/
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) http://www.drdo.org
Heavy Water Board (HWB) http://www.heavywaterboard.org
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) http://www.hal-india.com
India Meteorological Department (IMD) http://www.imd.ernet.in
Indian Academy of Sciences http://www.ias.ac.in
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) http://www.iacs.res.in
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) http://www.icar.org.in
Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) http://www.iirs-nrsa.org
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) http://www.tropmet.res.in
Indian Jute Industries' Research Association (IJIRA) http://www.ijira.org
Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) http://www.inae.org
Indian Rare Earths Limited http://www.dae.gov.in/ire.htm
Indian Rubber Manufacturers Research Association (IRMRA) http://www.irmra.org
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) http://www.isro.org
Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Bangalore http://www.isibang.ac.in
Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Calcutta http://www.isical.ac.in
Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Delhi http://www.isid.ac.in
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) http://www.igcar.ernet.in
Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) http://ibsd-imphal.nic.in
Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) http://www.igib.res.in
Institute of Mathematical Science http://www.imsc.ernet.in
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) http://www.jncasr.ac.in
Man-Made Textiles Research Association (MANTRA) http://www.mantrasurat.org
Media Lab Asia http://www.medialabasia.org
National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) http://icar.naarm.ernet.in
National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) http://www.nabl-india.org/
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) http://ncaor.nic.in
National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) http://www.ncbs.res.in
National Centre For Plant Genome Research (NCPGR) http://ncpgr.nic.in/
National Institute of Design (NID) http://www.nid.edu

76
 ENVIS Query Form
1. Name: 2. Designation:
3. Organisation and Address:
4. Email :
5. Literature will be used for:
6. Date: 7. Signature:
I Would like to search your database in the following areas:
(tick appropriate subjects, give keywords)
Subject Keywords
1. Mine Fires ………. ………. ……….
2. Water Pollution ………. ………. ……….
3. Land Subsidence ………. ………. ……….
4. Noise & Vibration ………. ………. ……….
5. Ergonomics ………. ………. ……….
6. Mine Soil Amendments ………. ………. ……….
7. Land Use ………. ………. ……….
8. Policy & Planning ………. ………. ……….
9. Bioprocessing of Fuel ………. ………. ……….
10. Hydrogeology ………. ………. ……….
11. Acid Mine Drainage ………. ………. ……….
12. Waste Water Treatment ………. ………. ……….
13. Air Pollution ………. ………. ……….
14. Land Reclamation ………. ………. ……….
15. Environmental Management ………. ………. ……….
16. Socio Economic Environment ………. ………. ……….
17. Solid Waste Management ………. ………. ……….
18. Impact Assessment ………. ………. ……….
19. Mine Spoil Amendment ………. ………. ……….
20. Health and Toxicology ………. ………. ……….
21. Mine Closure ………. ………. ……….

Please mail to the attention of Dr. Gurdeep Singh

The Co-ordinator, ENVIS Centre and Professor & Head
Centre of Mining Environment, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad- 826004.
Phone: (0326) 2206372; Fax: (0326) 2206372/2203042/2203080
email: [email protected]/ [email protected]
Website: www.geocities.com/envis_ism

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