Long-term forest cover on anvil

According to highly placed sources in the ministry, clearance of a project or its denial is done arbitrarily by the minister in power despite official guidelines. “At present, there are individual proposals and the ministry reacts to them on a one-to-one basis which leaves scope for ad hoc decisions and courtroom battles,” say sources.

The forest and mineral maps of the country are almost the same implying that the entire mineral wealth of the country lies in thewooded areas, say officials. The ministry will conduct GIS (geographical information systems) mapping of resources after which the classification will be done.

The sources said that the needs and aspirations of the tribal populations would also be taken into account as a majority of them stayed in or near forest areas and were dependent on them.

The ministry will also be reviewing mining strategies and technologies being adopted around the world in order to bring local practices up-to-date. It will lay down ecological safeguards during and after mining in particular areas.

In addition to these, the ministry will seek a review of the policy on exporting raw ore from the country which leads to extensive mining.“We need to go in for value addition rather than exporting of raw ore as it leads to increased degradation without giving us the benefits,” the sources said.

It will also suggest ways to rehabilitate exhausted mines in all areas including non-forest areas and private lands. In addition, it willalso require all laws regarding protected areas network.