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Mining-related activities are known to gravely impact the environment and local communities. In several cases, mineral production requires clearing large forest areas contributing to air, water and land pollution. Therefore, environmental regulation through risk assessments and compulsory licensing is essential to protect the environment and local communities while ensuring sustainable mining practices. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is the central body concerning forest land use and environmental regulations.
A mining leaseholder is required to obtain four primary clearances — forest clearance (FC), environment clearance (EC), wildlife clearance (WLC) and consent to operate (CTO). The MoEF&CC has laid down the rules and procedures for obtaining these clearances from relevant authorities at the Centre, state and district levels. However, the complexity of the clearance procedures and huge delays in granting them have become impediments to the efficient use of mineral resources. A recent working paper from the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) analysed the time cost of the post-lease clearance mechanism in India and its impact on mineral production.
For ECs, the statutory period for granting clearance is 180 days, while the FC (both Stage I and Stage II) require 300 days to be processed. The EC and FC can be applied simultaneously. After obtaining both, the CTO requires 120 days. A WLC is needed and has no prescribed timeline if some wildlife exists in the lease area. Hence, the entire clearance process should take about 420 days in cases where wildlife issues are not involved.
The Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive and Virtuous Environment Single-window Hub (PARIVESH) portal was used to obtain the data required to analyse the timeline for post-lease clearances. This online portal allows online submission and monitoring of applications for environment, forest, wildlife and coastal regulation zone (CRZ) clearances. The data is accessible to all.
An analysis of the data for three states (Odisha, Jharkhand and Karnataka) obtained from the PARIVESH portal (2015-2022) shows that a majority of environmental clearance applications in Odisha (80 per cent) and Jharkhand (82 per cent) were granted within six months of applying. However, a slack has been observed for Karnataka, where only four per cent of the applications were granted clearance within six months (180 days). None of the three states — Odisha, Karnataka and Jharkhand — have met the timelines for forest clearance. The Consent to Operate-related data from Odisha shows that 80 per cent of the applications were cleared within 120 days.
The Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi iron ore mine, a greenfield auctioned mine located in the Sundargarh district of Odisha, is currently leased by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel. The auction for this mine was won by Essar Steel in March 2016 at a bid of 44.35 per cent. This mine requires forest clearance along with an environment clearance and consent to operate, as 91 per cent of the lease area is under forest land. The clearance process was started in March 2016, but the mine could start production only in September 2021 after completing the clearance process. It took five and a half years for an auctioned greenfield mine to start production.
Three policy changes can be implemented to ensure a smoother and faster clearance process. Given the recent discussion revolving around the update to the PARIVESH portal, there is a need for a “one-stop shop” method for post-lease clearances in India. There are at least four clearances that need to be obtained by a leaseholder in India. They all have separate state or central bodies that grant these clearances based on multiple rules. This makes the process very time-consuming and hard to monitor. The “one-stop shop” policy followed in other mine-rich countries like Australia and South Africa involves greater decentralisation and reduced duplication. In India, this policy would involve decentralising the process to allow the state government to provide all the necessary clearances through the PARIVESH portal using a single application number. The central bodies (MoEF&CC) would be involved in monitoring and reviewing the state performances.
The second policy recommendation is that the MoEF&CC create a separate Social Impact Assessment (SIA) mechanism. Public consultation for mining projects is conducted only while granting an EC. Currently, there are no redressal mechanisms for concerns raised by the local communities during a public consultation. An SIA would allow for impact assessments in health, employment and social cohesion for local communities.
Lastly, the Ministry of Mines, for the first time, introduced the concept of pre-embedded clearances in the National Mineral Policy 2019. The proposed policy is being implemented on a pilot basis where each state would select five mineral blocks and obtain pre-embedded clearance before auctioning them. To effectively address the current delay in mineral production, expediting the implementation of pre-embedded clearances would be important.
Bansal is a research analyst and Kapoor is a research associate with the Centre for Social and Economic Progress
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