ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROJECT

GUIDED BY
GROUP 1
VIVEK H. BHOYE - 161080061
ADITYA RAINA - 171080002
GOVIND TADAVI- --------------
SARTHAK JHUNJUNAWALA- 171080011
ANIRUDH KHATRY- 171080012
 Sariska Tiger Reserve
• Sariska Tiger Reserve is a national park and tiger
reserve located in the Alwar district of
the state of Rajasthan, India.
• The topography of the protected area comprises
scrub-thorn arid forests, rocky landscapes, dry
deciduous forests, rocks, grasses and hilly cliffs.
• This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar state
and it was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955.
• It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it
a part of India's Project Tiger in 1978.
• It covers an area of 866 km2 (334 sq mi). The
reserve was declared a national park in 1990, with
a total area of about 273.8 km2 (105.7 sq mi).
• It is the first reserve in the world to have
successfully relocated tigers.

Tiger in the Sariska Tiger Reserve

• In January 2005, the Rajasthan Forest Department
and the Project Tiger Director declared an " tiger
census" in Sariska and the Central Bureau of
Investigation, India's intelligence agency, conducted
a probe.
• After a two-month investigation they finally
declared that Sariska did not have any tigers left.
Poaching was blamed for the disappearance of
tigers.
• In order to repopulate Sariska with tigers, three
tigers were relocated to the reserve and authorities
planned to relocate two more tigers by the end of
the following year.
• As of July 2014 the total tigers in the reserve were
11 with 9 adults. Two cubs were further sighted in
August 2014, making the total of tigers in Sariska to
13, with 7 females, 2 males and 4 cubs.
• This significant increase in tigers' population has
been welcomed by wildlife enthusiasts and
therefore the footfall has been increased by a huge
amount. Tigers in the Sariska Tiger Reserve
 Mining in Sariska Tiger Reserve
• Mining problem first came to sight when the area
near Sariska suffered from water shortage. The
water levels in lakes and wells went down.
• To counter the problem the community there with
the help of Tarun Bharat Sangh constructed
Johads. It was seen that even after constructing
johads, the water level did not go up in the wells
and lakes around Sariska.
• The water collected in the pits left unfilled by the
miners after their operations, thus depriving the
wells and lakes of water.
• The mining activities were destroying not only the
Aravalis (an oldest mountain range in the world),
but the indiscriminate dumping was also causing
damage to the Sariska National Park and
endangering the lives of the wild animals.
• An ecological imbalance was setting in, with faster
degradation of the area under mining operations.
 Impacts of Mining in Sariska Tiger Reserve
• Numerous studies have listed mining's adverse effects on Sariska Tiger Reserve's ecology,
especially the falling water table and high dust levels.
• The overburden, or mining waste, is dumped on surrounding land, rendering it infertile.
• Mining, has also adversely affected the fauna of the region, with the number of tigers in the
reserve falling from about 45 in 1985 to 22 in 1991, though this may also be due to poaching.
• Mining caused havoc to the environment by way of deforestation, degradation of agricultural
land, pastures and hydrology of the area resulting in loss of conventional employment and hence
income of the local people.
• Air and noise pollution due to mining activity affected the health of the mine workers. Noise due
to blasting accompanied by deforestation affected the habitat of the tiger and other wild animals
in the Sariska Tiger Reserve .
Instruments used in mining
• Excavators
• Draglines
• Drills
• Roof Bolters
• Continuous Miners
• Rock Duster
• Shuttle cars and Scoops
• The mines around Sariska yield
marble, dolomite and limestone.
• Central government clearance is
required for the mining of all three
minerals but they were never
obtained before the granting of
leases for any of the mines, thus
making them illegal.
• Nearly 45 organisations along with
the support of villages started the
Save Aravallis campaign. A public
interest petition was filed by Tarun
Bharat Sangh, a non-governmental
organization in the Supreme Court
of India.
• In 1991, the court issued an order
against continuing mining in the
ecologically fragile Aravallis.
• Order by the Supreme Court was
issued in a public interest case filed
by TBS concerned with
environmental issues in Alwar
district.
The order is broadly in three sections.
• The first immediately shuts down 215 mines located entirely within
Sariska's protected forest area and 47 mines that are partly within it.
There are more than 500 mines in the Sariska area.
• The second directs the ministry of environment and forests (MEF) to
forward within three months a report on the Rajasthan
government's proposal to transfer 5.02 sq km land to STR, in lieu of
an equal area where mining is going on. This would mean not only
denotifying 5.02 sq km of land, but also afforesting the
compensatory land to be transferred to STR.
• The third part requires owners of mines outside the protected
forest areas but within STR, to obtain within four months, MEF
permission to operate. This portion of the ruling affects about 250
mines, but they can all continue to operate for four months.
 Mining scam in Aravallis
• In 2015 a petition was files by a resident of Alwar claiming hat as
many as 85 illegal stone quarrying units are operating within 10 km
radius of the sanctuary.
• Some of the mines and quarries were located about 100 metres
from the sanctuary’s boundary wall and a few operating adjacent
to the boundary wall.
• Also stone blasting was being carried out in the highly ecologically
sensitive area. It was found that only two of these quarries or
mines were operating with environmental clearance and the
Rajasthan Pollution Control Board’s consent to operate (CTO).
• Following this The National Green Tribunal directed that no person
or company will be allowed to carry out stone quarrying or mining
of any sort without the requisite environmental clearance near the
Sariska Tiger reserve in Rajasthan.
The National Green council also sent notices to all the illegal quarries.
Uranium

Uranium (U), radioactive chemical element of the actinoid series of the

periodic table, atomic number 92. It is an important nuclear fuel.
Nalgonda District

• It is estimated that there are an estimated 11.02 million tonnes of

uranium reserves spread over 1,326 acres,
• The Uranium Corporation of India
Limited (UCIL) will mine uranium in four villages -- Tummalapalle,
Mabbu Chintalapalle, Bhoomayyagaripalle and Rachakuntapalle -- in
Pulivendula assembly constituency, about 70 km from Kadapa town.
• It also wants a tailings pond for waste in K K Kottalu village, 6 km from
these mines. The cost of the project is Rs 1,029.57 crore. A total of
11.02 million tonnes of uranium reserves with 0.0407 per cent of U 308
uranium were identified in this area a decade ago.
Disadvantages/Impacts of
Uranium Mining
• Uranium is known to have adverse effects on the body as well as the
ecosystem.
• Exposure to uranium can cause the people affected to heavy
radiology and chemical toxicity.
• A common effect seen is high intake of uranium causing kidney
problems eventually causing death.
• Exposure to depleted uranium increases the risk of induced cancers
like leukemia.
• Not only is the body affected, the land used for mining looses all its
nutrient content rendering the land useless for residential purposes.
• Displacement of people living in the area of Tummalapalle, Mabbu
Chintalapalle, Bhoomayyagaripalle and Rachakuntapalle.
• Due to mining the locals are devoid of a huge part of the land which
could have been used for agricultural, industrial purposes.
• Ecosystem is disturbed due to high radiation levels. Fishes ,plants, and
animals are exposed to radiations which can cause mutation and
defects.
• The River , into which processing waste is dumped , is contaminated
resulting in destruction of food chain.
• Nuclear waste , not being easily disposable uses a lot of time and
resources which could have been used for other developments.
• Uranium mining, processing, and reclamation have the potential to affect
surface water quality and quantity groundwater quality and quantity, soils,
air quality, and biota.
• Significant potential environmental risks are associated with extreme natural
events and failures in management practices. Extreme natural events (e.g.,
hurricanes, earthquakes, intense rainfall events, drought) have the potential
to lead to the release of contaminants if facilities are not designed and
constructed to withstand such events, or fail to perform as designed.
• Dewatering effects. To enable a mine to be worked, groundwater needs to
be prevented from entering the mine or removed in a process known as
dewatering. Groundwater entering the mine can be pumped out and
discharged at the surface, or the local water table can be lowered using a
number of extraction wells surrounding the mine to prevent water from
entering. Mine dewatering activities have the potential to affect surface
water quality, particularly if the discharge is not treated.
• Acid mine drainage (AMD) has the potential to be one of the most
serious environmental problems caused by uranium mining if it is not
appropriately managed and mitigated.
Advantages
• Uranium is known to have many uses and purposes in life
• Nuclear energy:-
• One of the leading uses of uranium is known to be as a source of
nuclear energy
• Less uranium is required to produce the same energy as coals or oil
hence reducing the cost substantialy.Uranium is also easily
transported and stored hence reducing costs furthermore.
• Power plants using uranium are more reliable as it experiences
fewer burnouts and other power interruptions.
• Greenhouse gases:-
• While nuclear energy does have some
emissions, the plant itself does not give
off greenhouse gasses. Studies have
shown that what life-cycle emissions that
the plants do give off are on par with
renewable energy sources such as wind
power.
• Uranium is also known to be used in nuclear fission as it is unstable
making it suitable for producing new elements.
• Uranium was used to a large scale in glass production.
• Uranium mining work being fully automated requires minimal
manpower decreasing possible errors.
• Uranium as radioisotopes proves useful an important medical
treatment for diagnosis and research.
• It can also be used in food preservation, breeding livestock smoke
detectors etc.
• Crowns and dental implants is another use.
Conclusion:
Mining gives us the benefits of many minerals. But ores should be mined
such that the benefits outweigh the impacts on the environment . Hence
the result of these case studies was found out and it was observed that the
mining carried out in Sariska and Nalgonda had harmful effects on the
environment and hence the mining activities were shut down in these
areas
THANK YOU