Keonjhar: In the wake of reports that 11 iron ore mines in the state will be auctioned in August, large scale tree felling is feared to happen around Gandhalpada iron ore mine. It is estimated that nine lakh sal trees and herbal plants will be cleared.
According to reports, Gandhalpada iron block and Kasia iron and dolomite mines are under Joda mining circle. Over 100 iron, manganese and dolomite mines are operational in the district.
However, many mines are inoperative as they fail to deliver minerals as per allotted quantities. It is alleged that forest and environment of the district have already taken a heavy beating owing to mining and mineral transportation.
Gandhalpada will face adverse ecological impact due to upcoming mining activities. Gandhalpada mine at Guali panchayat is rich with sal forest. Recently, a notification was put out seeking auction of the mines, triggering concern by local people and environmentalists over possible felling of sal trees and its adverse impact on the local ecology.
Gandhalpada mine is spread over 2.24 square/km while an area of 2.12 square/km is identified as mineral reserve. The area bordering on Sundargarh is just 1 km from NH-215.
An area of 241.558 hectares of land will be leased out for mining out of which 181.461 hectares are forest area. As per assessment, the area has a reserve of 314.37 million tonnes of iron ores while 262.69 million tonnes are of high grade iron ore.
Environmentalists observed that the sprawling forest area has been a source of livelihood for thousands of local people, especially tribal communities living around it. Their livelihood will be adversely affected by the mining, they added. It was roughly estimated that about 9 lakh sal trees will be felled to make space for mining while valuable herbal plants and shrubs will face complete extinction, only to induce a kind of ecological peril to the area, they said.
Moreover, what is even more disturbing is the fact that Sona and Karo rivers which are already polluted by mining activities will be further polluted by mining in Gandhalpada mine.
It is said that though many mines in the district have huge mineral reserves, mineral extraction work has remained suspended. Even some mines have been expanded in terms of their areas, but mining is not being carried out as per targets, it was alleged.
“In such cases, the government should lay focus on inoperative mines and the mines failing to meet mineral extraction for auctioning,” locals said.
They have opposed the bid on mining the un-mined areas. Earlier, locals had opposed the auctioning. A fresh bid to auction the mines in the virgin forest land has stoked resentment among locals.
It is alleged that after the auction of the mines, lease holders and some influential local people make big bucks from the mining and mineral transportation at the cost of the local tribals who lose their livelihood and get nothing in return.
They lead their life from daily wages, it is said, but mining in their area fetches them only adverse implications from forest clearing, it was alleged.
Salil Behera, the joint director of the Joda mining circle, said that the government had decided to auction the mine on a proposal.
As for the issue, DFO Swayam Mallick said as per rules, permission of the forest department is taken. “Besides, survey of trees in the proposed mine area is conducted before the auction while environment impact assessment is also carried out,” he observed.
PNN
