Cement, Energy and Environment

11 A Planning Commission report from 2012 tled “ ' Sustainable Development, Emerging issues in Indias mineral sector” observed that in the mineral-rich states of Odisha, Goa, Karnataka and Jharkhand, mining has brought about economic development. At the same me, it has caused significant environmental damages and nega vely impacted communi es in project areas. To that extent the mining and environmental laws and regula ons have not been very effec ve. As per the report published by NITI Ayog in 2017 on “Socio Economic Impact Study of Mining and Mining Polices on the Livelihoods of Local Popula on” it has men oned that mining is considered as one of the necessary evils of the modern world, which provides the materials required to sustain quality of life. While improving the quality of life and giving an impetus to economic development, it has also brought in its wake, a notable impact on the environment as well as socio- economic condi ons of local people (Vagholikar and Moghe, 2003). The proposed mining areas and ac vi es have been severely cri cized by environmentalists and social ac vists, on the issue of poten al loss of forests and displacement of villages as the mines increase in number and size of opera ons. Insufficient a en on given to managing impacts on the environment and the socio- economic fabric has been observed in the past, has reflected adversely on public support for reform and private investment needed for accelera ng growth in the state. The most important environmental requirement for a mining project is a comprehensive environment assessment (EIA) programme, which was started in 1994. However, laws and regulatory instruments work unsa sfactorily due to weak enforcement and inadequate coordina on among government agencies. Although mining companies tend to meet the legal requirement of preparing a mine closure plan, the implementa on falls short. Local communi es are not consulted in the prepara on and implementa on of mine closure plans. The New Mineral Policy, 2019 has also been focused on the main theme of mining being environmentally sustainable. We are now going to explore those very efforts, to find answer to the very ques on, could mining ac vi es ever become environmentally sustainable for both environment and our health? The answer is, it is very much possible to make mining more environmentally sustainable, there are few prac ces being followed across interna onal mines, which can be implemented at Indian Mines to minimise environment pollu on. All we have to do is to develop and integrate these prac ces that reduce environmental effects resul ng from mining opera ons. Sustainable mining prac ces is basically mining prac ces that meets the present demand without compromising the future genera on's needs. In the process, at the advent of new mining methods, tools, regula on and legisla on, significant efforts are helpful to make mining more environmentally friendly. 2) Self-regula ng mining enterprises which are economically viable, financially profitable and technically efficient i.e. innova ve mining prac ces and use of technologies There are prime responsibility of mining companies towards the implementa on of the principles of sustainability for mining. It has applica ons for all stages of the mine life cycle, i.e., star ng from explora on, mine planning, development, mineral extrac on to mine closure, post-closure reclama on and rehabilita on.