Jairam asks new CM to review mine leases…….Viju B
Calls For Action As Mining Firms Wreak Havoc In Sindhudurg
Calls For Action As Mining Firms Wreak Havoc In Sindhudurg
Sawantwadi-Dodamarg : With my dear Ashok out of the picture,Union minister of environment and forests Jairam Ramesh has renewed his attempts to highlight the devastating mining leases awarded in the ecologically fragile Sindhudurg region.
The Central minister wrote to Prithviraj Chavan on November 29,requesting the chief minister to examine the 49 mining leases for the excavation of iron ore and bauxite in the verdant area.Enclosed with the letter,Ramesh has sent copies of the TOI reports that exposed the tragedy and a similar letter he wrote to the previous CM,Ashokrao Chavan,on October 18.
The Times of India,in a series of reports beginning October 15,had underlined the Maharashtra governments approval of mining leases in Sindhudurg,which has the highest green cover in the state and was declared the first ecotourism district in the country in 1997.Many of these leases were granted on the basis of fabricated environment impact assessment reports.
Of the 49 permissions,32 were granted in the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg zone,which has the highest forest cover within Sindhudurg district.It boasts of rich wildlifeincluding 5 tigers,27 leopards,101 bisons,214 wild boars,114 sambars and spotted deer,288 langurs and 30 elephantsbesides over a 1,000 varieties of medicinal plants.
TOI visited one of the mines in the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg areaKalane mine,run by Mines and Metals Pvt Ltdand found mountains denuded of all forestry and slit at various points for the extraction of iron ore.Though it became operational only 10 months ago,the mine has already caused a visible environmental damage.It is just a matter of time before the streams adjoining the mines will become unfit for drinking and the water tables will fall drastically, warned D Stalin,project director of environmental NGO Vanashakti.
Sumaira Abdulali of NGO Awaaz foundation said: The UN has identified the Western Ghats amongst the 12 ecological hotspots in the world.Destroying the green zone will change the monsoon pattern and it will have an adverse impact on the entire country.
The activists were vindicated by an expert panel,which had been asked by the MoEF to identify ecologically sensitive areas in the Western Ghats.Led by ecologist Madhav Gadgil,the panel recently castigated the state for failing to enforce environment laws.It cited the instance of Kalane gram panchayat which had opposed the mining lease in its area on the grounds that it would pollute Kalane river and affect the water supply scheme at Chandel river in Goa.