The Dolomite Minefield

On January 22, the Madhya Pradesh government notified an amendment to the Madhya Pradesh Minor Mineral Rules, 1996.

- Rahul Noronha

The amendment tweaks the procedure for issuing permits to quarry ‘minor minerals’ like dolomite, used in the state’s steel and other industries. On January 30, Harshika Singh, the district magistrate of Mandla district, wrote to the subdivisional magistrates, the CEOs of district panchayats and the divisional forest officers of the district to solicit opinions—and objections—of the local gram sabhas on a proposal to permit dolomite quarrying in certain areas near the Kanha and Bandhavgarh tiger reserves.

The move has sparked fierce protests from locals and environmentalists—on not just the ecological impact of mining but also the consequences of quarrying leases on the nistar rights of local tribal communities, and the fact that the latest amendment is at odds with the spirit of the earlier law.

The state government’s amendment follows a decision by the Centre in 2015 to reclassify 31 ‘major minerals’ (including dolomite) as ‘minor minerals’—a technicality that makes it easier for states to issue permissions for quarrying leases. The Madhya Pradesh government’s amendment on January 22 also included a provision for e-tendering for such quarrying rights.