The country’s commitment towards protecting the environment is being questioned after it was declared that more than 46,000 acres of forest land has been diverted for mining of minerals and coals during the last five years. It is learnt that the Environment ministry has given 179 approvals in 17 states for this purpose over the same period. Among the states, Odisha recorded the highest area of forest land that has been diverted for mining at 18,979 acres, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 8,417 acres. Other states that are in the top five list are Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It may be noted that Himalayan states -- Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand – that have reportedly diverted a substantial amount of land for mining and ecologically fragile and prone to natural disasters like flash flood and landslides in the recent past due to rampant destruction of the environment. Under these circumstances, the Environment ministry’s decision has raised many eyebrows, with critics seeing these steps as suicidal. To prove the country’s seriousness in combating climate change, a threat which has now turned into a reality, critics are demanding a complete ban on diversion of forest land on the pretext of mining or development.
On its part, the Environment ministry has informed that the decision to divert forest land has been taken after thoroughly scrutinising its impact on the environment. The ministry also has assured that mining works will not affect the environment at any cost, claiming that the advisory committee attached with the ministry has taken stern actions against the offenders. It cited the recent imposition of INR 857 crore fine on the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for carrying out coal mining without approval on 156 acres of land in Jharkhand. Similarly, the National Green Tribunal has sent notice to Karnataka government for diverting over 4000 acres of land for iron ore mining for a decade and a half. The ministry further argued that all the decisions about diverting forest land have been taken in accordance with the law.
However, environmentalists are of the view that considering the present situation, any decision to divert forest land for mining activities should best be avoided to prevent global warming-induced natural disasters. They also argued that diverting the forest land will cause irreparable damages to forest and streams, as well as hamper the livelihood of the forest-dwellers. They opined that the government should adopt a stringent policy to prevent large-scale reduction of forest land and to grant permission for diverting the land only when it is absolutely necessary and when such acts will not cause any harm to the environment.