BELGAUM: At the environmental public hearing held at Bamanwadi village under Kinye gram panchayat on Tuesday to consider environmental clearance for the expansion of bauxite ore mining operations in forest areas of Western Ghats in Belgaum taluk, Deputy Commissioner and chairperson of the committee Shalini Rajneesh said she would not recommend to the Government to grant permission to increase ore production.

She asked the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and the Department of Mines and Geology to conduct parallel surveys on pollution levels in water bodies reported to be affected owing to mining operations.

The hearing was held to consider the proposal of M/S. Dalchand Bahadur Singh (DBS) to increase production of bauxite ore. Demanding closure of mining operations, villagers including Sanjay Deshpande, Sateri Kamte and Madhukar Dattu Sutar from Bamanwadi and nearby Navage said there were increasing levels of dust pollution and extensive damage to roads owing to movement of ore-laden trucks.

Environmental activist, representing the organisation "Pariyavarni", S.Y. Prabhu said the Government should study soil erosion before giving permission for any mining activity. Charantimath of the same organisation said water retention of the soil would reduce owing to deforestation with mining operations.

"Pariyavarni" secretary Srihari Kugaji said three public hearings were conducted this year in violation of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 1994 and 1997 under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.

He said though the company's mining lease had lapsed in 1993 mining operations were continuing.

The area has a variety of medicinal plants which needed to be studied, he added.

Mr. Kugaji produced documents obtained from the Forest Department to show that the land on which the company proposed to take up mining operations in Bijagarni, Bokanur, Navage and Hangirge villages was reserved forestlands.

Memorandum

The Kinye gram panchayat had urged the Department of Forests, Ecology and Environment not to grant environmental clearance to the mining company. In a memorandum faxed to Principal Secretary of the Forest Department and Member Secretary of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) department on Monday, panchayat president Suryakant Killekar said the public hearing to be held in Bamanwadi village was in violation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification (EIA) 1994 and 1997 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The board had not complied with the rules of holding public hearings as prescribed under the EIA notification.

He said documents on the proposed project were not made available in vernacular languages, nor were they available in any of the offices, including the offices of the Deputy Commissioner, the tahsildar or the District Industries Centre. Information about the public hearing was not communicated to the gram panchayats concerned on time.

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