Thematic discussion-Round table with civil society, industry and government of Goa on 27th September 2010
The Panel observed the following points raised by the two major groups:
Points raised by the
Goa Foundation and other Environmental Groups:
1. The mining license given prior to 1980 have to be revisited and cancelled
2. All the Wildlife Sanctuaries in the State should be declared under Ecologically
Sensitive Area
3. License given for mining inside the Sanctuaries should be cancelled
4. If there are any orders for de-notifying any area from the existing sanctuaries for any purpose, including mining shall be revoked in line with the recommendations of the Supreme CEC
5. Proposal of the Goa team to declare the four sanctuaries along with adjacent areas
as a tiger reserve may be recommended by the WGEEP.
6. The proposal of the SESA recommending the four Sanctuaries to be notified as ESA
shall be revisited incompliance with the criteria developed for the whole of the
Western Ghats by the WGEEP and also considering the proposal of the State
Pollution Control Board given in its Environment and Zoning Atlas. Copies of the
above proposals should be obtained by the WGEEP
7. Sacred Groves and Ecosystems of Sads should be declared as ESAs
8. Lateritic plateaus in Goa are rich in biodiversity and hence, should be considered for ESA
9. Mining in the Thalvadi Irrigation project must be stopped
10. The Goa Government’s proposal for “Zero buffer” for the Sanctuaries shall be
rejected outright and fixed at 10 km
11. There is an indication of increasing incidence of human-wildlife incidence which
should also be considered while recommending the area for buffer zone
12. Mining leases with in three km radius of the wildlife sanctuaries should be
terminated
13. Mining leases in the Selaulim Dam should be revoked
14. No mining should be permitted in the Forest Working Plan Divisions of North and
South Divisions.
15. No forest clearance should be given for mining as there is no land available for
compensatory afforestation and, moreover, compensatory afforestation schemes
have been a failure
16. Mining causes depletion of ground water leading to water scarcity in the area e
introduction of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and the Forest Conservation
Act 1
Points raised by the
Federation of Indian Minerals Industries (FIMI) Southern Region:
1. Delineation of the Western Ghats needs to be put down on a map which has to be
tied to the coordinates of the Survey of India topo-sheets.
2. Similarly, the boundaries of Wild Life Sanctuaries and National Parks have to be
accurately defined so that there is no confusion on the ground.
3. The developmental needs of the people and the states have to be considered always
keeping in mind the ecological and environmental concerns.
4. Mining and agriculture are the only two activities which create value out of mother earth. If minerals are not extracted, their worth is the same as mud.
5. The employment potential of mining is huge as apart from the persons directly
employed, an army of people are engaged in loading, transportation and ore
treatment plants. It also spawns ancillary activities like workshops, eateries, schools and hospitals. It is estimated that for every person directly employed, ten other jobs are generated.
6. There are also many environmental friendly technologies available. The use of
ripper/ dozers or “surface miners” obviate the need for blasting. In certain deposits, underground mining is an option and the environmental impacts are much less in that case than in open-cast mining.
7. Transportation also plays a major role in pollution. Alternatives like conveyors and aerial ropeways can be considered particularly in hilly terrain.
8. A point to be considered is that in the absence of economic activities, the youth
particularly tend to get disaffected and led astray. A case in point is that after the closure of Kudremukh, naxalism has raised its head in the area.
9. Therefore, FIMI’s suggestion is to declare the present sanctuaries and parks as ecosensitive areas and leave the rest of the Western Ghats for developmental activities.
10. FIM, from the responsible mining industry, will pledge to follow sound mining
practices and participate in the overall development of the areas.
11. Not only will mines comply with all environmental laws, many are already going
beyond what is statutorily laid down.
12. The mining industry is also willing to contribute 26% of the royalty (over and above the royalty) towards a Development Fund to be channelized into the areas around the mining areas. It will also follow the Relief and Rehabilitation policy of the government.
13. On the exports of iron ore, FIMI categorically stated that 90% of exports are fines and inferior grades which no domestic producer of iron will touch. If a product can be sold economically domestically, which producer will like to export and that too after paying export duty?
Both the parties expressed their willingness to cooperate with the WGEEP for any
further discussion on the issue.
Following the discussion, Dr Vijayan observed that although the economic return from the mining activities have been highlighted, there apparently have no comprehensive study on the loss/impact on the environment, human health, ground water, biodiversity and, other aspects of the ecology. Till such a study is done there has to be a moratorium on mining.
The Panel decided to discuss the matter further at the next meeting of the WGEEP
scheduled on 28 and 29 October at Pune.
The Panel members expressed their satisfaction on a very meaningful round table
discussion with civil society, industry and government of Goa with a specific focus on iron ore mining in Goa Western Ghats. Dr. Ligia Noronha brought to the notice of the panel that for the Goa meeting, site visit and round table, she had written to government officials on 7 September 2010 by email but got no response from them. Dr. G.V.Subrahmanyam, Advisor, MoEF had also written to Secretary (Environment) Goa
informing about the meeting of the Panel. The Panel noted the lack of responsiveness of the state government officials.
d) Site visits to iron mines in Goa and Mahadei and Bhagavan Mahavir Wildlife
SanctuaryThe Panel members along with officials of the State Forest Department had site visits to the forest and mining regions on the 28th. The Panel members visited the Sankelim iron ore mines of Sesa Goa and were shown the activities in place, for ecological restoration in this non active mine. It was also shown an active new mine that has commenced in the area made profitable due to the increased demand from China and the rise in iron ore prices. Unfortunately the Panel was unable to see other active mines, despite requests to the Goa Government to arrange for a more detailed visit to the mining region. However, the Panel was given detailed presentations and documentation by non governmental organizations, and also got responses by the mining industry to issues raised by NGOs on the 27th on mining in Goa. This is documented in the note on that consultation.
The Panel members also visited the Mahadei Sanctuary, Anjuna Dam area and fringes of
Bhagavan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary to understand the proposal of State Forest
Department on notification of ecologically sensitive area around these Sanctuaries. The Panel noted the proximity of some of the mines to the Sanctuaries and reflected on some of the impacts that this proximity could have on the forests. The impact of mining on wildlife corridors was also discussed with State forest officials.
Source: http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/mom-6-western-ghats.pdf
The silver lining in the grim stats is that there has been an increase in the placement percentage from the years 2005-2006, when it hovered around 3%, which rose to 11.73% in 2007. It climbed down to 7% in 2008-2009 and last year, rose to a reassuring 10.23%. The employment exchange registers candidates seeking jobs both in public and private sectors.
