Environmental clearance has been granted to two limestone mining projects in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district, despite one overlapping part of a designated Great Indian Bustard (GIB) priority area and the other lying just over a kilometre away from the bird’s habitat.
The priority zones are vital to the survival of the critically endangered species, serving as key refuges and breeding grounds.
The latest projects to get approval involve mining at Parewar SN1 Limestone Block in Jaisalmer's Parewar village by Wonder Cement Limited and at Ramgarh Auctioned Block in the district's Ramgarh village by Dalmia Bharat Green Vision Limited.
They were recommended for the grant of environmental clearance by the Union Environment Ministry's expert appraisal committee (EAC) during its meeting held on October 8.
The development comes after a different limestone project in Jaisalmer's Joga village, 5.8 km from a GIB priority area, cleared the first step of the approval process in September. In July, another such project, with more than 280 hectares (or 29 per cent) of its mining lease area within the GIB habitat in the same village, was given a similar clearance.
While the Ramgarh project has a mining lease area of more than 250 ha, which is 1.77 km from a GIB priority area, the Parewar project has a mining lease area of 960 hectares (ha), of which 0.29 ha falls within the habitat. The latter project is also 7.34 km from the Mokla Parewar Conservation Reserve.
Deliberating on the Parewar project, the EAC recommended that no mining activity should take place on the 0.29 ha within the GIB habitat and Wonder Cement Limited should surrender the area after the grant of environmental clearance and the mining lease deed's execution.
The project's environmental impact assessment (EIA) report pointed out that mining activities can disturb feeding, resting and movement of bird species in the region. However, the impact is expected to be "minor" and several mitigation measures will be implemented, the report added.
In the Ramgarh project's case, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) conducted an assessment of the proposal to determine if limestone mining in the area can occur alongside the long-term conservation of important species, particularly GIB.
For its analysis, the WII divided the project's impact zone into two categories -- direct impact zone and indirect impact zone. The proposed mine sites, their associated cement plant, along with a one km buffer, were considered as the direct impact zone. A 10-km buffer surrounding the direct impact zone comprised the indirect impact zone.
"The impact zones were delineated to capture potential secondary effects of mining operations, vehicle traffic, dust deposition and noise pollution," said the study.
It found that although the direct impact zone lies completely outside the GIB priority area and no GIBs were recorded during surveys there, some grassland patches within the indirect impact zone were used by "GIB-associated species" such as chinkara, desert fox, Indian fox, spiny-tailed lizard and desert gerbil, as well as several raptors, vultures and other open-habitat birds.
The study said mining activities could reduce grassland productivity, and disturbance from machinery, dust and increased traffic may further decrease habitat suitability for sensitive mammals and raptors, potentially displacing them from existing habitats.
It also highlighted that collision and electrocution risks for raptors and for future GIB reintroductions could increase, particularly in the indirect impact zone, if new transmission lines were installed above ground.
"Overall, although the proposed mine and cement plant sites do not hold critical GIB habitat, mitigation measures on habitat restoration will be essential to maintain the ecological functions of the larger Ramgarh landscape," according to the study.
Previously, UltraTech Cement Limited's limestone mining project in Joga was recommended for the grant of terms of reference (ToR) by the EAC during its meeting on September 10. The proposed mining project, which spans over 400 ha and comprises a stone crushing unit, is situated 5.8 km from a GIB priority area.
ToR is a formal document that defines the scope, objectives, methodology and reporting requirements of an environmental impact assessment study for any proposed project.
In July, the EAC recommended Star Cement North East Limited's limestone mining project, also in Joga, for the grant of ToR. The 960-ha project includes 280 ha of its mining-lease area within a GIB habitat.