The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has restricted public hearing gatherings to a 100 people in keeping with the Centre’s “Unlock-4” guidelines.
The move could benefit Odisha’s new miners who need to get fresh green clearances within two years. Both AM/NS and JSW Steel, the only two players to start production, have plans to significantly ramp up capacity.
Public consultation is an integral part of the Environment Clearance (EC) process for large mining, industrial and infrastructure greenfield projects and significant expansions. Sensitive as a tinderbox, the occasion also serves to get social license from locals.
Limiting the number of people, from the thousands that attend from within a 10 km radius of the project site, to just 100 should make it a lot easier for the administration to carry out this exercise particularly with the pandemic’s continued spread in rural areas. Although the MoEFCC’s 14th September memo clarifies, “If the number of participants is more than such a ceiling, more than one public hearing shall be conducted by staggering the time and or dates.”
“This is a good initiative that will benefit companies pursuing clearances while also being in the interest of the public during this pandemic,” Ramakrishna Chinnamsetty who heads mining and raw material head at AM/NS told SteelMint. The company is looking to increase its production at Thakurani from the current 5.5mtpa (under its mining plan) to 8mtpa.
JSW Steel similarly already has approval from the Indian Bureau of Mines’ to produce 10 mtpa from Narayanposhi (up from current 6 mtpa) and 12.8 mtpa for Jajang (whose earlier plan of 16.5 mtpa included permission to lift 3.47mtpa from dumps). It has already applied to increase the massive Nuagaon’s mining plan from 5.6 mtpa to 20 mtpa. Ganua, considering its smaller reserves, will be ramped up from 1.2 mtpa to 3.4 mtpa according to company sources.
An environmental impact assessment and environmental management plan has to be prepared before a fresh EC can be sought. An actual public hearing is thus unlikely to take place before 4-6 months, say officials handling these matters. They also warn that despite the Centre’s agenda, things may pan out differently on the day in Joda – Barbil’s charged atmosphere.
Tuesday’s official memo requires state pollution control boards and other agencies to ensure masks and social distancing is maintained while also pushing for “electronic means”, like email to be explored to get stakeholder views where possible.
Mining plans in million tonnes per annum
An amendment to the MMDR Act had transferred existing mining plans and environmental & forest clearances to the successful bidder. These companies, however, have to get their own clearances within two years of signing a lease deed.
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