Illegal Mining in Konkan

Sharing these two reports that I came across...

ILLEGAL MINING ALONG KONKAN COAST

A Mumbai-based mining company has been extracting at least 10 times more bauxite ore than it is allowed to from a village in Ratnagiri and continues mining though its lease ran out in November 2009. The result, revenue loss running into crores of rupees and damage to a fragile ecosystem along the Konkan coast.

Documents with the HT show that the company, Ashapura Minechem Limited, has been mining bauxite ore, one of India’s biggest exports, from a 171-hectare mine on a hilltop in Sakhari Velas, 215km south of Mumbai, since June 2005.

Ashapura Minechem refused to respond to phone calls, text messages or emails. The company had promised to respond to an email from HT by Saturday morning but did not. Another email and a text message on Sunday did not elicit response either.

Mining along the Konkan coast is under the scanner of the Union environment ministry following reports of illegalities. The state-appointed Western Ghats Ecology Experts Panel had also raised queries about large-scale mining leases granted in this region.

Ashapura Minechem was given permission to mine 4,000 tonnes of bauxite ore every month. The company’s records show it mined more than 10 times the limit, often going up to 62,000 tonnes a month, for more than five years.

The company started mining in June 2005, but has submitted records for 29 months. In these months too, the company’s records show it produced 860,369 tonnes of bauxite ore when it should have mined only 116,000 tonnes.

The company also paid the state less royalty than it should have. Records with the Ratnagiri district collectorate show the company has paid Rs1.75 crore as royalty since June 2005. “Roughly, the royalty collected since June 2005 should be around Rs 7crore to Rs8 crore, going by the norms prescribed by the Indian Bureau of Mines,” district mining officer, Abhay Bhoge, said.

Government sources said these were conservative estimates because there were no records of how much bauxite ore the company had extracted since it started mining.

Bhoge said the administration had detected violations in the way the company had demarcated the mining area. “An inquiry into the matter is pending,” he said.

Collector Madhukar B Gaikwad said he would have to look into the matter.

VS Sawakhande, director, state directorate of geology and mining, said: “I remember there were some violations by this company, and I also recollect that we had taken action against them. Since I don’t have those records, I won’t be able to tell you the details. But, it’s true that there were violations.”

Despite this, Ashapura was given renewal licences to operate two mines near Sakhari Velas — at Umbershet and Rovale — in 2009.

Original article: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Illega...e1-645695.aspx

DESPITE VIOLATION, FIRM GETS TWO MORE MINING PERMITS

Ashapura Minechem Limited has been violating several norms while mining in Sakhari Velas village in Ratnagiri, but that did not come in the way of the company getting renewal licences to operate two mines near Sakhari Velas - at Umbershet and Rovale - in 2009. The Mumbai-based company has been
accused of several irregularities. In its recent report on the coastal districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, led by noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil, had mentioned the Sakhari Velas site saying its environmental clearance had expired in November 2009 but locals had reported that mining activity had continued and more bauxite was being mined than permitted. It also said that there was a contradiction between the locals’ report and the state’s stance.

Illegal mining has not just denuded the picturesque hill, surrounded by mango and cashew plantations, but has also put thousands of lives at stake.

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) had issued a notice to the company in November 2006 saying mining activity there could endanger the Vyaghreshwar Dam located at an aerial distance of 2.5km from the site, said a local official on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

In September 2009, the tehsildar of Mandangad filed a report indicting the company for encroaching upon open land, and mining without permission. In March 2008, the director of mines safety, Goa region, visited the site and accused the company of a series of violations, including the use of heavy earth moving machinery without permission.

Local activists including Shrikar Paranjpe, Milind Nijsure, Anand Dandekar, in charge of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s environmental cell in Konkan, and a local farmer, Pradip Daripkar, have been protesting against the company. They have repeatedly complained to authorities, often resulting in stop-work notices from the MPCB. District mining officer Abhay Bhoge, said: “We had ordered them [the company] to stop transportation of bauxite in January 2010 but it’s the MPCB which has to tell them to stop mining.” He said he would instruct the tehsildar to visit the site and ensure that mining has stopped.

Original article: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Despit...e1-645784.aspx