Govt mulls separate window for critical minerals

In a bid to fast-track forest and environmental clearances for critical or strategically important minerals, including rare earth ones, the union environment ministry is considering these proposals under a separate head in its Parivesh 2.0 portal.

- Jayashree Nandi

The ministry issued a clarification to all states and UTs in March, some of these proposals are now under consideration on the portal, according to industry bodies which include members who have got licenses recently. According to the letter available on Parivesh website, the ministry of mines raised certain issues seeking clarification which includes “Exempting critical mineral mining from Forest (Conservation) Act.” To which MoEFCC said: “As per the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, mining in forest land is a non-forestry activity and accordingly requires prior approval of the Central Government. However, a separate ‘category’ has been created in PARIVESH 2.0 for processing of FC for mining proposals for critical minerals, so that such proposals can be taken up on priority.”

The separate category cannot be viewed on Parivesh website but can be accessed by those with a composite or mining licence , industry bodies said.