NEW DELHI: Following the Supreme Court's November decision to allow mining in the Aravalli region, the Union Ministry of Forests, Environment, and Climate Change issued a memorandum in December over land acquisition.
The memorandum removes the requirement for land acquisition proof for non-coal mining projects when seeking environmental clearance (EC).
The change is intended to accelerate project approvals, such as gas exploration, mineral mining, etc. Now, non-coal mining projects can obtain environmental clearance without the consent of landowners, reflecting that the status of land acquisition is no longer linked to the granting of EC.
Previously, the ministry required proof of land acquisition as a prerequisite for obtaining EC.
The memorandum, dated December 18 of last year, applies to major non-coal mining operations, including mineral mining, slurry pipelines running through wildlife sanctuaries, protected forests, offshore and onshore gas exploration, as well as highways and other minor minerals like sand mining, stone quarrying, and soil excavation.
This new policy was reconsidered in response to requests stating that consent from landowners should not be necessary for granting EC to non-coal mining projects and that land acquisition status should not affect the clearance process.
"The matter was referred to the non-coal mining Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for consideration. After thorough discussion, the sectoral EAC determined that the request to delink consent from landowners at the time of issuing EC for non-coal mining projects is reasonable and can be approved," stated an official memorandum.
Additionally, the EAC noted that many mining projects have begun operations after receiving EC, with land acquisition still underway in a phased manner based on requirements.
The order indicated that the recommendations from the non-coal mining EAC were evaluated, and feedback on the relevance of the office memorandum dated October 7, 2014, as amended, for other sectors, was also solicited.
It was found that requiring land acquisition documents at the time of EC appraisal may not be practical for certain projects.
