The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) may have agreed with the discontinuing of `go/ no-go’ classification for coal mining areas but is in no mood to allow unrestricted mining in dense forests. The ministry has now decided that some forest areas, a very small portion of the overall coal-bearing region, will be considered ‘inviolate’ where no mining can be permitted. These areas will be considered fragile from the environmental aspect as well as from the point of view of protection of tribal populations. These ‘inviolate’ areas will include national parks, tiger reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries and areas endowed with dense forest cover or rich biodiversity.
At the Group of Ministers meeting on Tuesday, the ministry has agreed to give forest clearance on a case-to-case basis for projects of national importance. This means that these areas won’t be strictly ‘No-go” zones. This will remove uncertainty over many projects for which the clearance process would now be duly followed.
The MoEF has also suggested that biodiversity indexing be done for these areas where species of animals, insects, herbs, shrubs and reptiles which need to be preserved besides the forest cover..