Mining in Goa

the Environmental Context

2010

Retrospect Perspect and Prospect in

Vanashakti, C/o Spatial Access, 19/21, Unique Industrial Estate, Twin Towers Lane, Prabhadevi, Mumbai -400 025. Tel. No. + 91-22-65291089, +91-22-65255657. Fax No. +91-22-6660 2333

Table of Contents

Executive Summary Introduction Forests and Protected Areas Mining Protected Areas and Mining Situation Today Possible Inferences Reference List

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Vanashakti is founded by ordinary citizens who want to do something for India & Indians. We believe that middle class India has to play a role in ensuring proper governance. For too long we have sat back and complained about the deterioration in the world around us. We need to make people aware that they have a stake in the world around them. They must be educated so that they can then take informed decisions. We believe that if we create informed awareness, people will be able to take a stand on issues that could impact them in the short term and in the long run. Vanashakti was born because we believe that India can progress only as long as her people are nurtured. India can progress only as long as her environment is nurtured. For that, the Government needs a watchdog. Not an external body but an internal body. A group of concerned citizens. Not big business, not lumpen elements that can be bought for a few rupees but the average Joe who has had enough of being taken for granted. Vanashakti is a platform where like minded people can come together to debate, discuss & campaign to build public awareness. Vanashakti is a Public Information Initiative (PII). PILs have helped open our eyes to a number of issues that would otherwise be swept under the carpet. PIIs seek to inform all the constituents of the interplay between factors. We start with creating awareness of major issues. We recognize the need for people to be aware of various developments and changes made by our Government, in the Laws and Legislation that govern us and our country.

Compiled and edited by: Kavita Mallya Inputs: Stalin D. Recommended Citation: Mallya K., Stalin D. (2010); Mining in Goa: Retrospect, Prospect and Perspect in the Environmental Context, Pp- 19, Vanashakti Vanashakti 2010

Executive Summary

For most people acquainted with Goa, the Freudian snip is beaches and silvery sand. Situated on the west coast of India amidst the States of Maharashtra and Karnataka, Goa is the smallest Indian State with a coastline 105 km long with varied topography comprising coasts, plateau and a substantial part of the Western Ghats hill range. Running all along the States eastern length, the Western Ghats comprise 600 sq.km. out of the total 1, 60,000 sq km. of its entire area, in the State. Harboring rich tropical forests and a varied biodiversity, the Western Ghats is one of the biodiversity hotspots of the world. One National Park and five Wildlife Sanctuaries in these hill ranges within the Sate further testify the presence and density of biodiversity in these hills. Ironically, this area has seen the steady increase in strip mining which has now taken on the proportions of an epidemic induced by the industrial development. What has evolved as a complex system of tropical forests over millions of years have been transformed into denuded areas with huge deep craters filled with toxic waters, and the process continues. This document aims at highlighting the effects and perils of strip mining, its irreparable effects on complex and unique ecosystems and the degradation of wildlife habitats and wildlife migratory corridors. It is a compilation of facts which show how decades of government apathy coupled with the greed of the mining companies has succeeded in destroying Goas bio diversity and the disturbing fact that this activity continues unabated. The document has been put together to sensitize citizens local, national and international in order to enable them into taking informed decisions, to make independent assessment of the situation and suggest means to safeguard the varied biodiversity of the Sate and the country at large.

Introduction
Goa is India's smallest State by The soils are predominantly of lateritic nature, which manifests the

area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in south west India, it is bounded by the State of Maharashtra to the north, by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. The Western Ghats region runs along the eastern length of the State and consists of a wide belt of rich forest, with abundant biodiversity of flora and fauna. The

underlying geology of the area. The coastal tracts are, however, alluvial flats. The climate is pleasant and warm almost throughout the year and there are no remarkable changes in temperature. The monsoon runs from the month of June to September with an average annual rainfall of over 3000 mm. Agriculture is the predominant occupation of the people of the state followed by fisheries and tourism.

intermediate region that lies between the high Western Ghats region and the coastal plains is called the mid land region, with distinct geographical and ecological

characteristics. Following is a brief fact file about the state.

Liberation Statehood Geographic Area .Geographical Coordinates Districts Talukas Forest Cover Soil type Major Minerals Climate Average Rainfall Major Rivers

1961 (From the Portuguese) 1987 (25th State of India) 3072 sq. km. 154549.12N, 733952.55E; 145644.42N,740301.00E 153947.99N, 740933.52E; 150227.91N, 741255.88E North Goa, South Goa Bardez, Bicholim,Canacona, Mormugao, Pernem, Ponda, Salcete, Sanguem, Sattari, Tiswadi, Quepem 1424.46 sq. km. Laterite Magnatite, Haematite, Bauxite Tropical ~ 3000 mm Mandovi, Zuari

Map 1: Map of Goa. Courtesy: www.goaenvis.com

Forests and Protected Areas

Goa is a land of rich, natural assets. Besides the beaches which most people link it with, it also embraces rivers and lakes, hills and plateaus, pristine forests and fields. All packed by nature into one of Indias smallest States. Out of the total geographical area of 3702 sq. km. about 1424.46 sq. km. constitutes the forests. Following is a fact sheet on the forest cover of Goa.

Geographic Area Government Forest Forest Area Private Forest Total

3072 sq. km. 1224.46 sq. km. ~ 200.00 sq.km. 1424.46 sq.km.

The following table shows the taluka-wise distribution of the forest cover of the State.

District

Taluka Bardez Bicholim Pernem Ponda Satari Tiswadi Canacona Murmugao Salcete Sanguem Quepem

Area (sq.km.) 264.80 236.33 242.00 252.28 512.84 166.12 1674.40 347.36 78.31 277.19 886.60 437.36 2026.80

North Goa

Total

South Goa

Total

Forest Area (sq.km.) 8.08 13.43 50.12 280.99 1.78 354.40 185.82 0.08 569.25 114.90 870.05

As per the State of Forest Report 1999 published by Forest Survey of India, the total forest cover in Goa was 1251 sq. km. i.e. 33.79 % the total geographical area, comprising 995 sq. km. dense forest , 251 sq. km. open forest and 5 sq.km. mangroves. A decrease of 1 sq.km. was reported in 1999 assessment as compared to 1997 assessment. As per the 2001 Report, the forest cover in Goa is 2095 sq. km. comprising 1785 sq. km. dense forest and 310 sq. km. open forest. The increase is due to the change in the methodology of the assessment which includes cashew, mango and other horticultural trees in the forest cover, and not the actual change.
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Map 2: Vegetation Map of Goa. Courtesy: Forest Survey of India

The State has one National Park (NP) one Bird Sanctuary five Wildlife Sanctuaries (WLS). Details of these are as follows:

Sr. No.

Name

Area (sq. km.)

Location (Taluka)

Year of creation 1978 1967 1969 1969 1988 1999 1999

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Mollem NP Bhagwan Mahavir WLS Bondla WLS Cotigao WLS Dr. Salim Ali WLS Madei WLS Netravali WLS

107.00 133.00 8.00 86.00 1.80 208.48 211.05

Sanguem Sanguem Ponda Canacona Tiswadi Sattari Sanguem

Map 3: Protected Forest Areas of Goa. Courtesy: Tech. Cell, Forest Dept. of Goa

Mining
Open-cast or strip mining is one of the most destructive forms of industrial activites in the world. In many areas of the world, companies have replaced the method with better practices like room and pillar extraction, which does not envisage destruction of forests or removed which pile up as huge mountains on the mining sites. These wastes are washed by heavy rains (more than 120 inches annually) into rivers. When the economically valuable deposits of these are exhausted only the low-grade ones remain which can be plundered because of Goas proximity to the sea, which makes easy export of even such low grades possible. The lower the grade, the larger the quantities of earth that must be mined, hence the greater the environmental impact. Earlier, the ratio of of iron, mud/overburden to ore was 3: 1, now it is 4: 1. Iron ore production in Goa has always been 100% export oriented. The first export of 100 tonnes was in 1947. The figure rose to 1 million tonnes by 1954, 10 million tonnes by 1971, and 13-15 million tonnes in the 1980s. Today, due to the demand from China, the quantity has reached 33 million tonnes! Goas natural assets are being dismembered to for

destruction of nature on the surface. Mining practice in Goa has been the opencast method which requires the clearing of large tracts of forests, removal of the overlying nutrient rich top soil and finally excavating the ore rich soils. Goa has deposits

manganese and bauxite, the mining belt covering approximately 700 sq. km and is mostly concentrated in four talukas

namely, Bicholim of North Goa district and Salcete, Sanguem and Quepem of South Goa district. Mining and associated activities have greatly affected the natural landscape in and around these areas, which is characterized by the presence of pits and waste rejects. Goan ore is poor quality; for every tonne of ore between 3.5 and 4 tonnes of waste material have to be

relocation

China!

History of mining The former colonial Portuguese Government handed out over 700 mining concessions to various individuals to conduct simple, surface-level, manual operations to extract whatever ores they could find. These concessions were granted in perpetuity. Being manual operations, they were granted without any consideration their operations would have on the environment. Never was it
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envisaged that mechanized power would be used on these concessions and that mining would go below the water table or require extensive demolition of forests in the Western Ghats or large scale

Pollution Control Act (1974), the Air Pollution Control Act (1981), the Forest Conservation Act (1980) and the

Environment Protection Act (1986) were never implemented by any of the

destruction of productive agriculture. In 1987, the Indian Parliament passed a special law abolishing the mining

authorities when the mines came up for their first permissions after the 1987 Act was notified. In 1994, the Ministry of Environment issued its Environment

concessions of Goa, converting them into mining leases under the control of Indias mineral extraction and environment laws. Despite this, the provisions of the Water

Impact Assessment (EIA) notification for environment implementing clearance it for but Goas resisted mines.

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Map 4: Old Portuguese mining map of Goa giving the location of more than 700 mining leases granted by the Portuguese Government. Courtesy: www.goafoundation.org

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Protected Areas and Mining

Today, more than 40 mining leases operate in forested areas of the State. They require the destruction of forests on private properties or government-owned forests. Most mining operations are within the Western Ghats. Talukas like Sanguem in which many mining leases have been approved are thickly forested. Majority of the government forests allowed for mining have in fact already been notified as Reserve Forests to bring them within the protection of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. That protection, however, has not been a bar to their destruction at the hands of the mining industry and the government. The maximum area under mining is in

Sanguem Taluka followed by Bicholim, Sattari and Quepem. Some 400 mining leases had been granted in Goa till 200203, covering approximately 303.25 square km. -- this works out to almost eight per cent of the total geographic area of the state. Number of mines is increasing every year. Assuming that total mining project that came to expert committee since June 2007, gets cleared then another 8.4 per cent and 5.3 per cent geographical area of Sanguem Taluka and Quepem Taluka respectively will get converted into mines.

Diversion of forest areas for mining activity

The estimated area of forests affected due to mining in Goa is about 20 sq.km. Since mining is a non-forest activity, approval of the Central government is required under the Forest Conservation Act. So far 31 cases covering 11.16 sq. km. area have been approved, which includes about 3 sq. km. broken up area of the forest land. The details of mining leases in the forest areas are as given below: Total number of leases Number of active mines Total area Number of leases in forest areas Number of active mines in forest areas Total area 355 74 66.90 sq. km. 91 26 19.66 sq.km.

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Map 5: Composite of the Portuguese mining map with satellite images of Goa's Protected Areas (PAs) and graphic map data to depict the boundaries and corridors of the PAs. Also location of the mines approved by the MoEF within 3 km and 1 km of these PAs. Courtesy: www.goafoundation.org

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Situation Today
Mhadei and Netravali WLSs were notified by the State of Goa in the year 1999. Together they cover an area of some 420 sq. km. With the notification of these two PAs, the entire eastern length of Goa became a continuous protected corridor beginning from Cotigao in the South and ending with Mhadei in the North, thus enabling the animals to move freely without human interference from one part of the State to the other, and across the Goa border, into the PAs of Karnataka as well. There were, however, mining Wild Life (as it was known then) to denotify vast sections of both these sanctuaries in order to enable mining to resume. The Supreme Court dismissed the application. In November 2003, the

Central Empowered Committee issued an order to the State government bringing to a halt all mining activities in both the sanctuaries. Though mining has now ceased in the two sanctuaries, the

devastated areas which include some of the highest ridges of the protected Western Ghats have remained un-rehabilitated till today. Recently, in yet another attempt to permit mining through the back door in the sanctuary areas, the Forest Settlement Officer (FSO) appointed by the Goa Government to entertain claims under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, has gone on a spree entertaining claims of mining companies and passed several orders excluding their leases from the sanctuaries. Fortunately, the FSOs orders cannot be executed due to the Supreme Court ban on activities in the Sanctuaries.

leases granted in the 1950s particularly for manganese within the two areas that were now notified as sanctuaries. The government did not think it necessary to cancel the leases. So, despite the fact that the Supreme Court of India had banned all activities in WLSs and NPs, mining continued, particularly in Netravali, with the tacit support of the Goa Government. In fact, the State government had moved the Supreme Court and the Indian Board of

Despite a Supreme Court order, issued in 2000, the Goa Government permitted several mining leases to

Empowered Committee brought all mining activities to a halt in November 2003. The mine owners then just walked away from the sites. A visit to the mined areas in November 2007 showed the state in which
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continue to be operated within the sanctuary. Only a complaint to the Central

they have been abandoned. None of the mining authorities nor even the Forest

Department have demanded reclamation and rehabilitation of these areas to date.

Map 6: Imageries of Sanguem (above) and Bicholim (below) post mining. Courtesy: Google Earth

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Map 7: Imagery of Quepem post mining. Courtesy: Google Earth

Mining policies like the Mine Closure Policy 2003, National Mineral Policy of India, 2008 Rules, amongst others require the mines to be reclaimed and rehabilitated post mining (The National Mineral Policy of India, 2008 Rules state that any abandoned mine "should be made richer than what it was before" through refilling the craters and reforestation). Mine owners on the contrary abandon the mines in a state of utter decay and toxicity once they are depleted, or plant fast growing trees like Australian Acacia which is an invasive plant species and Casuarina which is a coastal plant. Acres of Acacia or Casuarina gives rise to a monoculture in the middle of dense tropical forests; forests which have evolved over millions of years. How this fulfills the defintion of restoration in the eyes of the MoEF and the Goverrnent is incomprehendible. Mining operations running for decades results into huge craters of the magnitude of 80m and more depth. Refilling of the craters will require that amount of soil which is possible only if mud in that magnitude is excavated from another area and the cycle continues. So basically we are left with a situation that to cover up on what is a destructive activity , we need to continuously destroy more mountains and forests recklessly. All in the name of development and progress. In a country where the GDP is the ultimate indicator of its worth, the rampant and massive erosion of its natural resources, its bio diversity is hardly on the priority of those people in power on whom the onus of protecting these assets lie.

Possible Inference

India experiences its climatic type due to the Western Ghats running roughly parallel along the west coast of peninsular India and the Himalayan range fringing the north. Ours is an agrarian country, age old agricultural practices being a function of the seasonal pattern. Mining activities scoop out the Ghats leaving fragments of a continuous chain of mountain range, a range that is responsible for the heavy monsoon showers in the west coast and the characteristic climatic type of the Deccan trap. These activities continued will someday flatten these mountains changing the topography and consequently the meteorological, agrarian, ethological, cultural and economic aspects of the country, a change which is irreversible.

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Reference List

Bibliography 1. Claude Alvares & Reboni Saha, Goa Sweet Land of Mine, Goa Foundation (2008). 2. Karapurkar, H.Y. et. al., State Level Expert Committee to Identify Forests in the State of Goa Final Report (2002). 3. Sawant, S.M. et. al., State Level Expert Committee to Identify Forests in the State of Goa Final Report (1999). 4. State of Forest Report, Forest Survey of India (2009).

Webography 1. www.goaenvis.nic.in ENVIS Centre on Status and Related Issues on Goa. 2. www.goaforest.com Forest Department Government of Goa. 3. www.ibm.nic.in Indian Bureau of Mines.

Cartographs 1. Forest Department- Government of Goa 2. Forest Survey of India, MoEF, Goverrnment of India 3. Goa Foundation 4. Google Earth

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