MoEFCC raises concerns over Odisha Mining Corporation’s plan for drilling near Khandadhar

Since the area proposed for prospecting is an elephant habitat and the presence of tiger has been noticed in recent times, the committee also sought the comments of the NTCA in this regard.
Khandadhar water falls in Sundargarh district
Khandadhar water falls in Sundargarh district
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BHUBANESWAR : The Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has flagged serious environmental concerns on the Odisha government’s proposal for exploratory drilling in Khandadhar sub Block-B iron ore mining area in Sundargarh district by Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC).

Deferring its decision to grant approval for diversion of forest land for exploration by core drilling, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the ministry has asked the state government for a detailed scientific study to ascertain the impact of mining on the eco-sensitive area and also obtain the views of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

The state government had sought the approval of the Centre under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 for exploration/prospecting in 0.779 ha of forest land within the total prospecting lease area of 432.8 ha covered under prospecting license in favour of OMC in Sundargarh district.

While the entire area granted for the prospecting lease is forest land and no non-forest land is involved in the proposal, a total of eight bore holes of four-inch diameter up to 70-metre depth have been proposed to be drilled in the forest land.

The experts committee has asked the state government to conduct a scientific study to ascertain the impact of ongoing mining activities in Bonai forest division and its impact on the water regime of the area along with flow of water in the waterfall in its catchment. Since the area proposed for prospecting is an elephant habitat and the presence of tiger has been noticed in recent times, the committee also sought the comments of the NTCA in this regard.

Besides stating that fresh construction activity is visible within the area of prospecting lease as per decision support system (DSS) analysis, the FAC asked the state to revisit the proposal and submit well-reasoned comments on the issues that have been raised.

The proposed exploration area is in the vicinity of the Khandadhar waterfall, which is the lifeline of the tribal and local communities. They depend on the waterfall for cultivation, livelihood, tourism, cultural practices. It is considered as an important natural heritage of the state.

During the site inspection by the forest officials, it was observed that the proposed area comes under a very dense forest category. “This is a patch of pristine forest of Sal and Sal associates with good regeneration and the area is in the upstream of Khandadhar waterfall. Any mining activity in the catchment of the waterfall will ultimately result in death of the waterfall itself,” observed the committee.

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