Amid protests, Assam govt says mining not approved in eco-sensitive zone

CIL has applied for open cast mining in 98.5 hectares, most of which is post facto – or enacted afterward – regularisation of mining tghat has already taken place.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had earlier asked state Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya to inspect the site and report.

On Saturday, the state government clarified that “no final approval for mining had been accorded.”

Suklabaidya said: “Mining had been stopped since October 2019 by the state government. Coal India Ltd and the Forest Department will have to fulfil the 28 conditions; the compliance report will be placed before the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for grant of stage-II clearance.”

I-G, Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Soumitra Dasgupta said, “No permission has been granted (since matter first emerged in 2013). We have asked the user agency (CIL) to submit a mitigation plan in consultation with the state government, which we will first study.”

In 1973, North Eastern Coalfields (NEC), a subsidiary of public sector CIL, had signed a 30-year lease with Assam government to carry out mining in Saleki proposed reserve forest, which comes under Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve.

The lease expired in 2003, but mining continued until 2012, as highlighted in a site inspection report by W I Yatbon, Deputy Inspector General of Forests, Regional Office, Shillong.

This document, submitted to MoEF in November 2019, says coal mining was being carried out in the area by CIL in “gross violation” of Assam Forest Regulation, 1891, and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The report also says state government officers should be “aware of the fact that the work was going on.”

The report was part of a response to an RTI filed by green activist Rohit Choudhury.

General Manager, NEC, CIL, Jugal Borah, told The Sunday Express in an email response, “Before the original lease lapsed in 2003, North Eastern Coalfields, Coal India Ltd. applied for renewal of the lease in 2002.”

CIL applied a second time in 2012.

In June 2013, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of MoEF considered the proposal and recommended stage-I clearance, subject to a number of conditions. These include “clearance by NBWL before stage-II clearance’’, a fine by CIL twice the extent of the area broken up, and preparation of a “regional wildlife plan for the area by the state government’’, among others.

In 2013, FAC found that most land was actually broken for mining after the lease expired – 12.93 hectares broken up before 2003, and 44.27 hectares broken for mining after lease expired.

“A stage-I clearance is simply an in-principle approval that we give on recommendation of the state government. This is not permission to carry out mining or any other activity,’’ I-G (Forest), MoEF, A K Mohanty said. Stage-II clearance permits mining.

In its meeting on November 28 last year, the FAC observed, “…the user agency [CIL] is continuously working in the area after expiry of original lease period in 2003. FAC observed that violation by user agency since 2003 to …state government should not have allowed mining prior to final approval under FCA, 1980. There has been gross neglect…on behalf of state government.’’

Former forest minister in the Congress government, Rakibul Hussain, was unavailable for a comment.

Rajya Sabha MP from Assam and state Congress chief Ripun Bora said, “CIL did not mine after 2003. These were petty thieves and miscreants; as soon as our government came to know of illegal mining, we lodged an FIR against them in 2013.”

Bora said he does not have a copy of the FIR.

In 2019, FAC upheld directions of the 2013 FAC order and directed action against CIL as well as culpable government officials.

Suklabaidya on Saturday said, “Mining from 1973 to 2003 by CIL, the illegal mining from 2003-2012, all happened under the Congress government. The CIL has been giving us revenue for 50 years. We did not know that they did not have approval. Only after the matter came to light last year we started investigating. We have asked 24 forest officials for a response. After that, disciplinary action will be initiated,’’.

In November last year, the MoEF had sent NBWL standing committee member Prof R Sukumar along with the state chief wildlife warden and a deputy director from the ministry for a site inspection. In his report, Sukumar stated, “57.20 ha forestland has already been broken up by the user agency [CIL] and the balance area of 41.39 ha unbroken land, cautious approach need to be adopted in the light of the (area’s) rich biodiversity.”

Sukumar recommended that the “unbroken area be left untouched.’’

Choudhury’s RTI query revealed that besides mining without permission from 2003 to 2012, the mined area is much larger than what CIL claims to be. While CIL has maintained that it has broken 57 ha out of total 98.59 ha, the RTI response reveals that the agency has mined in the unbroken area of 41.59 ha too — 9 ha of it had already been broken and another 7 had been cleared.

Choudhury said, “First, why did the Assam government forward this to MoEF? They know that the area is part of a larger elephant reserve. Second, the area is within the eco-sensitive zone — 10 km from Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary. So that is another violation.”

The 111.19-sq km Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary is part of the larger Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve. As per CIL’s statement, the project site (Saleki PRF) is 9.19 km from the wildlife sanctuary and 10 km from Golai Powai, which is the nearest Elephant Corridor.