Illegal Mining and Effects on Environment

Submitted By : Kevin moses (80) , Kushagra Saxena (83)

Illegal Mining or Mining scams are wide spread into many ore rich states of India like Karnataka, MP, Goa, and sites like Ganges River bed etc. This issue has led to many other problems like Naxalism and huge losses to exchequer as calculated by CAG, the watch dog of India. Lets have a look into various such scams. Illegal ore mining in Karnataka: In the center stage were Reddy Brothers who owned large mines in bellary district of Karnataka. This iron ore is alleged to have been illegally mined after paying a minuscule royalty to the government. Officials and Politicians Nexus conspired to let illegal mining flourish: The guidelines under the Central and the state enactments, call for a sketch of the mining area when a mining lease is applied for. It was found by the Lokayukta that sometimes the actual mining areas are not related to the sketch given with the applications without officials crosschecking them. Further mining applicants falsely claim a prohibited forest area as a revenue area. Finally the actual area of the mine is much bigger than the claimed area.[13] The Indian Bureau of Mines rules which control the type of mining, allow a maximum mining depth six meters to prevent environmental degradation. But miners have flouted this rule to over-extract iron-ore. Loss to Exchequer: There is a huge difference in the market price of the ore and the royalty specified by the government as well as faulty measurement mechanisms of amount of ore extracted. It was found that 35 lakh (3.5 million) tonnes of ore were illegally exported without paying a rupee of royalty to the exchequer, resulting in a loss of about Rs 16085 crores. With ore prices of USD 100120 per ton, 3.5 Million tonnes adds up to about 3504000 Million USD. Iron Ore Mining in Madhya Pradesh: On 14 November 2011 person known as Rajendra Dixit registered a complaint at Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta Office against Indian National Congress MLA Sanjay Pathak's mining firms, demanding a Lokayukta probe against an alleged iron ore [41] mining scam worth Rs 5000 crore allegedly committed at Sihora, Jabalpur. He also presented on record copy of the note-sheet which was said to be prepared at the orders of then CM Digvijay Singh on June 24, 2002 in which he allegedly ordered the upper secretary, Department of Forest to declare the forest land as revenue land to allow Pathak's mining firms perform iron ore Mining at the site. Illegal mining In Goa: The Shah Commission report on mining in Goa has accused both the state and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of allowing illegal mining *42+ in the state, putting the regions environment and ecology at risk. The commission, headed by Justice M B Shah, was set up by the Centre in 2010 to probe into the illegal mining across the country. About 55 per cent of the iron ore exported

from India comes from Goa. The common illegalities the report points to are mining without licence, mining outside lease area and transporting minerals illegally.

Environmental effects of Illegal Mining: The environmental impact of mining includes erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining processes. In some cases, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of mines to increase the available room for the storage of the created debris and soil.[1] Besides creating environmental damage, the contamination resulting from leakage of chemicals also affect the health of the local population.[2] Mining companies in some countries are required to follow environmental and rehabilitation codes, ensuring the area mined is returned to close to its original state. Some mining methods may have significant environmental and public health effects. Erosion of exposed hillsides, mine dumps, tailings dams and resultant siltation of drainages, creeks and rivers can significantly impact the surrounding areas, a prime example being the giant Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New Guinea. In areas of wilderness mining may cause destruction and disturbance of ecosystems and habitats, and in areas of farming it may disturb or destroy productive grazing and croplands. In urbanised environments mining may produce noise pollution, dust pollution and visual pollution. The environmental impact of the coal industry includes the consideration of issues such as land use,waste management, and water and air pollution caused by the coal mining, processing and the use of its products. In addition to atmospheric pollution, coal burning produces hundreds of millions of tons of solid waste products annually, including fly ash, bottom ash, and flue-gas desulfurization sludge, that contain mercury, uranium, thorium, arsenic, and other heavy metals.[citation needed] There are severe health effects caused by burning coal. According to the reports issued by the World Health Organization in 2008 and by environmental groups and 2004, coal particulates pollution are estimated to shorten approximately 1,000,000 lives annually worldwide, including nearly 24,000 lives a year in the United States. Coal mining generates significant additional independent adverse environmental health impacts, among them the polluted water flowing from mountaintop removal mining.[citation needed] A major EU funded research study known as ExternE, or Externalities of Energy, undertaken over the period of 1995 to 2005 found that the cost of producing electricity from coal would double over its present value, if external costs such as damage to the environment and to human health, from the airborne particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, chromium VI and arsenic emissions produced by coal, were taken into account. It was estimated in the study that external, downstream, fossil fuel costs amount up to 12% of the EUs entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with coal the main fossil fuel accountable for this, and this was before the external cost of global warming from these sources was even included. The study also found that the environmental and health costs of coal alone were 0.06/kWh, or 6

cents/kWh, with the energy sources of the lowest external costs associated with them being nuclear power 0.0019/kWh, and wind power at 0.0009/kWh.

Wildlife Surface mining of coal causes direct and indirect damage to wildlife. The impact on wildlife stems primarily from disturbing, removing and redistributing the land surface. Some impacts are short-term, and confined to the mine site; others have far-reaching, long-term effects. The most direct effect on wildlife is destruction or displacement of species in areas of excavation and spoil piling. Pit and spoil areas are not capable of providing food and cover for most species of wildlife. Mobile wildlife species like game animals, birds, and predators leave these areas. More sedentary animals like invertebrates, reptiles, burrowing rodents and small mammals may be destroyed.[citation needed] The community of microorganisms and nutrient-cycling processes are upset by movement, storage, and redistribution of soil. Without rehabilitation, these areas must undergo a weathering period (which may take a few years to many decades) before vegetation is established and they become suitable habitat. With rehabilitation, impacts on some species are less severe. Humans cannot immediately restore natural biotic communities; they can, however, assist nature through reclamation of land and rehabilitation efforts geared to wildlife needs. Rehabilitation not geared to the needs of wildlife species (or improper management of other land uses after reclamation) can preclude reestablishment of the original fauna.[citation needed] Many wildlife species are highly dependent on vegetation growing in natural drainage areas. This vegetation provides essential food, nesting sites and cover from predators. Activity destroying this vegetation near ponds, reservoirs, marshes and wetlands reduces the quality and quantity of habitat essential for waterfowl, shorebirds and terrestrial species. The commonly used head-of-hollow fill method for disposing of excess overburden is of particular significance to wildlife habitat. Narrow, steep-sided, V-shaped hollows near ridge tops are frequently inhabited by rare or endangered animal and plant species. Extensive placement of spoil in these narrow valleys eliminates habitat for a wide variety of species, some of which may be driven to extinction.[citation needed] Broad and long-lasting impacts on wildlife are caused by habitat impairment. The habitat requirements of many animal species do not permit them to adjust to changes created by land disturbance. These changes reduce living space, and some species can tolerate very little disturbance. In instances where a particularly critical habitat is restricted (such as a lake, pond, or primary breeding area), a species could be eliminated. The range of damage possible is wide.[citation needed] Large mammals and other animals displaced from their home ranges may be forced to use adjacent areas, already stocked to their carrying capacity. This overcrowding result in degradation of remaining habitat, lowered carrying capacity, reduced reproductive success, increased inter- and intra-species

competition, and potentially greater losses to wildlife populations than the number of originally displaced animals. Degradation of aquatic habitats is a major impact by surface mining, and may be apparent many miles from a mining site. Sediment contamination of surface water is common with surface mining. Sediment yields may increase a thousand times their former level as a result of strip mining.[19] If streams, lakes, ponds or marshes are filled or drained, fish, aquatic invertebrates and amphibians are destroyed. Food supplies for predators are reduced by destruction of these land and water species. Animal populations displaced or destroyed can eventually be replaced from populations in surrounding ranges, provided the habitat is eventually restored; an exception would be the extinction of a resident endangered species. Preferred food and cover plants can be established in these openings to benefit a variety of wildlife. Under certain conditions, creation of small lakes in the mined area may also be beneficial. These lakes and ponds may become important water sources for a variety of wildlife inhabiting adjacent areas. Many lakes formed in mine pits are of poor quality as aquatic habitat after mining due to lack of structure, aquatic vegetation, and food species. They may require habitat enhancement and management to be of significant wildlife value. The effects of sediment on aquatic wildlife vary with the species and the amount of contamination. High sediment levels can kill fish directly, bury spawning beds, reduce light transmission, alter temperature gradients, fill in pools, spread streamflows over wider, shallower areas, and reduce production of aquatic organisms used as food by other species. These changes destroy the habitat of valued species, and may enhance habitat for less-desirable species. Existing conditions are already marginal for some freshwater fish in the United States, and the sedimentation of their habitat may result in their extinction. The heaviest sediment pollution of a drainage normally comes within 5 to 25 years after mining. In some areas, unvegetated spoil piles continue to erode even 50 to 65 years after mining. The presence of acid-forming materials exposed as a result of surface mining can affect wildlife by eliminating habitat and by causing direct destruction of some species. Lesser concentrations can suppress productivity, growth rate and reproduction of many aquatic species. Acids, dilute concentrations of heavy metals, and high alkalinity can cause severe damage to wildlife in some areas. The duration of acidic-waste pollution can be long; estimates of the time required to leach exposed acidic materials in the Eastern United States range from 800 to 3,000 years.