(ii) No. of trees which will be affected. Besides ha of Safety zone, the number of trees of rest ha forest land is 2,91,010 (P 556/c).

Transcription

1 FACT SHEET 1. Name of the Proposal Diversion of ha of forest land in Ankua Reserve Forest for mining of iron and manganese ores in favour of M/s JSW Steel Limited in Saranda Forest Division in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. 2. Location i) State Jharkhand ii) District West Singhbhum 3. Particulars of Forests a) Name of Forest Division Saranda Forests Divisions b) Forest area involved Total area proposed is of which mining is proposed on ha, 8 ha for widening of the road and ha for conveyer belt. c) Legal Status/Sy. No Reserve forest and notified as core area of Singhbhum Elephant Reserve (P 56/c). d) Map Enclosed (p-540/c) 4. Topography of the area - 5. (i) Vegetation The forest area is mixed deciduous forest comprising of % of quality Sal, the middle and lower canopy is of miscellaneous species. The proposed are is virgin and has vast floral and faunal diversity (P 56/c). (ii) No. of trees which will be affected Besides ha of Safety zone, the number of trees of rest ha forest land is 2,91,010 (P 556/c). (iii) Density Whether area is significant from The entire forest of Saranda Forest Division wildlife point of view including the proposed mining lease area has been notified as Core Area of Singhbhum Elephant Reserve. The Saranda Forest is considered to be one of the finest habitats for elephants. The presence of elephants in and around the proposed area is evident through many of the indirect evidences seen at the time of field inspection. The user agency however, undertakes to implement a planned scheme for protection of wildlife & forest to mitigate the effects due to mining (P 57/c). 7. Whether any rare/endangered/unique species of flora and fauna found in the area if so details thereof Whether there any violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, Details of Mining Indian elephant, giant squirrel, reptiles, sloth beer, wild boar, barking deer, etc. have been reported in the area. No

2 i. Total project area ha ii. Notified forest land ha vi. Total reserve million ton ix. Annual estimated production 192 MTPA x. Nature of mining operation Open cast xi. Phased reclamation plan Progressive mine closure plan is placed at p /c. xii. Gradient of the mining area - xiii. No of labourers to be employed Direct employment persons 8. Compensatory Afforestation The user agency has submitted land record for acres of non forest land for raising compensatory afforestation. The total land for compensatory afforestation is yet to be identified (P 58/c, P /c). The user agency has submitted the undertaking to provide balance compensatory afforestation land in due course. Cost of approved GM Land ( acres) is Rs. 35,46,01,350/-. 9. Catchment Area Treatment Not Applicable 10. Rehabilitation of Oustees a) No of families involved Nil. b) Category of families c) Details of rehabilitation plan 11. Reclamation of mined areas - Total Cost of the project 2700 crores 12. Cost Benefit Ratio 1: 34.61at p-78/c. 13. Recommendation All have recommended the proposal. i. DFO p-59-61/c ii. CCF P 63/c iii. PCCF p-66/c. iv. State Government p-67/c. 14. District Profile (i) Total Geographical area of 9907 Sq Km District (ii) Total forest area of District / 3727 Sq km Divisional forest area (iii) Total area diverted since ha (20 Cases) (iv) Total CA stipulated Forest land ha (iv) Total CA done since 1980 (as on ) Other Remarks: Non-forest land ha Forest land - Nil The work shall start as soon as the Governmnet will release funds

3 1. JSW Steel Limited and Govt. of Jharkhand have signed a MoU on Govt. of Jharkhand has granted prospecting license over an area of on The JSW Steel proposes to mine 10 MTPA ROM capacity of Iron Ore from Ankua Hatanaburua area of Manoharpur Taluka to meet its requirement raw material. 3. The Ankua Ioron Ore Project activities will include open cast fuly mechanized mining by forming sysyematic benches using down the hole drilling, deep hole blasting, loading by heavy machines and hauling on dumpers, etc. 4. The iron ore transpiration is proposed through pipe conveyor from pit head to loading complex ar Manoharpur. The are required for pipe conveyor corridor is 15 ha., out of whch ha in reserve Forests 5. The user agency has proposed ha of non forest land for raising compensatory afforestation. The total land for compensatory afforestation is yet to be identified. Cost of approved GM Land ( acres) is Rs. 35,46,01,350/-. 6. The mining plan along with mine closure plan has been enclosed (P /c). 7. The mining plan has been accorded approval by Ministry of Coal vide letter dated at p /c. 8. The user agency has given an undertaking to bear the cost of CA. 9. About 2,91,010 trees of different spp. will be felled during the project period. 10. No violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 has been reported. 11. There is no archaeological / heritage site / defence establishment or any other important monument located in the area. 12. The MoEF has given environmental clearance vide letter dated to establish the mine for production of 10 MTPA iron ore at p /c. 13. The cost of the project is Rs.2700 crores. 14. The State Government has recommended the proposal. Site Inspection report 1. Legal status of the forest land proposed for diversion Reserve forest and protected forest and notified as core area of Singhbhum /Elephant Reserve. 2. Item-wise break-up details of the forest land proposed for diversion: The item wise breakup of the broken up of total forest and non-forest area for different purposes is as below:

4 Sl. No. Purpose of use Forest land (in ha) Total Non forest land (in ha) Total Total (Forest land + non forest land R.F P.F other s Govt. Privat e 1. Mining Waste Dump -D Waste Dump D2 Sub-grade Dump Site office Manager office, Time Office, Shift in charge office, store facility (temporary structure)` 4. Magazine (28.93 ha) a) Magazine area and security check post area b) safety zone area 5. ROM stacking, crushing and sizing facilities Water reservoir and treatment plant 7. Built up area (maintenance facilities etc.) Roads Green belt/safety zone Access road to SAIL (including Road safety zone) 11. Conveyor corridor 12. Widening and strengthening of existing approach road 13. Loading complex, railway line, HT line Township Total Whether proposal involves any construction of buildings (including residential) or not. If yes, details thereof:

5 As stated in point No. 2 above. 4. Total cost of the project at present rates: Estimated cost of the project is about Rs.2700 crores. 5. Wildlife: i. Whether forest area proposed for diversion is important from wildlife point of view or not: As per the DFO in part II, the entire forest of Saranda Forest Division including the proposed mining lease area has been notified as core area of Singhbhum Elephant Reserve vide Notification No.72/2000 P.E. dated of Government of India. The Saranda Forest is considered to be one of the finest habitats for elephants. India Elephant, Giant Squirrel, Reptile, Sloth Beer, Wild Boar, Barking Deer, etc. have been reported in the area. The DFO during his site inspection reported about presence of Elephant, Wild Boar, Wild Bear, Barking Deer, etc. The Conservator of Forests in his site inspection reported that this patch of forest are regularly being used by a herd of 8-10 elephants as permanent habitat. The PCCF in his covering letter informed that the wildlife elephant habitat will be fragmented. ii. Vegetation The canopy is reported to be very dense with Sal forming the top canopy and Sal forms the pure patch in many parts. The average density is reported to be between 0.7 to 0.8, as mentioned at part II of the proposal. During the inspection with DFO, it was found that the forest was very dense, the species was missed; but Sal was predominant; sometimes occur in almost pure patches. A road from the SAIL mines passed through the proposed area. The SAIL lease occurred on both side of proposed application, one of the SAIL lease was operative. (a) Total number of trees to be felled. Besides ha of Safety zone, The number of trees of rest ha forest land is Effect of removal of trees on the general ecosystem in the area: The ecosystem will be adversely affected because of felling of the trees. (b) Important species:

6 As per the report of the DFO in part II, the forest is a moist mixed deciduous forest comprising around 50-55% of quality sal (shorea robusta). The top canopy is mostly of sal, the middle and lower canopy is of miscellaneous species. The proposed area is virgin and has vast floral and faunal diversity. Number of trees of girth below 60 cm /100x = Number of trees of girth above 60 cm /100x = Background note on the proposal: As per the proposal, the Government of Jharkhand have given approval to JSW Steel Limited for setting up an 10 MTPA Integrated Steel Plant and 800 MW CPP near Barenda village, Sonahatu Block, District Ranchi, Jharkhand by utilizing reserve of Ankua Iron Ore deposits in Ankua-Hatanaburu area of Manoharpur Taluka, West Singhbhum District, Jharkhand as a value addition project in the State of Jharkhand. The JSW Steel is proposing to develop large open cast mechanized mine on Ankua iron ore deposits. The total area granted for Mining Lease is ha and the entire area is Reserve Forest Land. The iron ore transportation is proposed through pipe conveyor corridor is 15 ha out of which 10.6 ha is Reserve Forest land. Also the UA has planned for strengthening and widening of the road, for which an area of 9.2 ha is required, out of which 8.0 ha is Reserved Forest area and 1.2 ha is non forest area. The project will do the mining in a phase-wise manner. 7. Compensatory afforestation: As per the proposal at part II, the DFO informed that the user agency has submitted land record for acres of non forest land for raising compensatory afforestation. The total land for compensatory afforestation is yet to be identified. The user agency has submitted the undertaking to provide balance compensatory afforestation land in due course. The details of the CA area identified so far, as given by the UA is enclosed as annexure-1. (a) Whether land for compensatory afforestation is suitable from plantation and management point of view or not: Part compensatory afforestation land has been identified. Full compensatory afforestation land is yet to be identified. (b) Whether land for compensatory afforestation is free from encroachment/other encumbrances:

7 Part compensatory afforestation land is identified. Full compensatory afforestation land is yet to be identified. Encroachment not reported by the DFO. The title and ownership should be thoroughly checked before taking over the land. (c) Whether land for compensatory afforestation is important from Religious/Archaeological point of view: Not reported. (d) Land identified for raising compensatory afforestation is in how many patches, whether patches are compact or not: Part compensatory afforestation land is identified. Full compensatory afforestation land is yet to be identified. (e) Map with details: Part compensatory afforestation land is identified. Full compensatory afforestation land is yet to be identified. The available maps are enclosed in the proposal. (f) Total financial outlay: As per the report of DFO at part II the detailed compensatory afforestation scheme will be submitted after Stage I clearance. Whether proposal involves violation of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 or not. If yes, a detailed report on violation including action taken against the concerned officials: Not reported. Whether proposal involves rehabilitation of displaced persons. If yes, whether rehabilitation plan has been prepared by the state Government or not; Not reported. 8. Reclamation plan: The mining plan which also contains a chapter on progressive mine closure plan is enclosed in the proposal. i. Details and financial allocation: Progressive mine closure plan enclosed. ii. Details on catchment and command area under the project :

8 The Conservator of Forests, Southern Circle, Chaibases in his site inspection report informed that the proposed area is one of the major water shed for the river Koena. iii. Catchment area treatment plan to prevent siltation of reservoir: The UA need to carry out soil and moisture conservation measures. iv. Cost benefit ratio: 1;34.36 v. Recommendations of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests/State Government: The PCCF has left the decision on permission to divert forest land in this case to the Government of India, which is enclosed as annexure-2. The salient point is as follows: Forest of Saranda area an important habitat of wild elephants and a number of elephant corridors located in this area link this habitat to the adjoining forests of Jharkhand and Orissa. Any increase in mining operations in this area is likely to have an adverse impact on elephants and other wild animals. This will require integrated and extensive mitigative measures. In view of the guidelines issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests, in case of Reserved Forests, diversion of forest land for new mining leases has not been recommended in the past. However, the applicants have informed through their letter dated that diversion of Reserve Forest land for new mining leases has been allowed by the GOI, MoEF in other states. 9. Recommendations of Chief Conservator of Forests (Central) along with detailed reasons: Appended separately. 10. Dy. Conservator of Forests shall give detailed comments on whether there are any alternative routes/alignment for locating the project on the nonforest land ; Mining is site specific.

9 11. Utility of the project : The forest will be opened up due to mining and ancillary activities, which inturn create more roads and different employment avenues for the people. Number of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes to be benefited by the project: SC/ST population will be benefited in the project through employment etc. (a) Whether land being diverted has any social-cultural/religious value: Saranda forest is rich, the bio diversity is unique, the Sal forests of Saranda is highly recognized by foresters. (b) Whether any scared grove or very old growth trees/forests exist in the areas proposed for diversion: The forest is rich, many very old trees exist in the area. (c) Whether the land under diversion forms part of any unique eco-system: The Saranda forest ecosystem is unique, the richness of sal forests of Saranda have been recognized by the foresters often. 12. Situation with respect to any Protected Area: The Saranda forest is important from the wildlife point of view. As per the DFO in part II, the entire forest of Saranda Forest Division including the proposed mining lease area has been notified as core area of Singhbhum Elephant Reserve vide Notification No.72/2000 P.E. dated of Government of India. The Saranda Forest is considered to be one of the finest habitat for elephants. 13. Any other information relating to the project ; a. Naxal problems of CA land as well as proposed diverted land : Both the proposed diversion area in Saranda division, also the CA areas in Gumla division fall in the Maoist affected areas. In Latehar division, while we are inspecting the compensatory afforestation areas for JSPL projects, we were kidnapped by more than 20 (twenty) heavily armed Maoists with the automatic weapons and rocket launchers and detained for more than 7 (seven) hours and were released after 6 p.m. During discussion with the Maoist commander with DFO, Latehar on that day under Latehar division, during our hostage period, it was transpired that in many areas, the right of the actual cultivators (not legal owners) are not recognized in different Government transactions. The Government officials, many a times are not able to verify the field situations properly due to fear of Naxal. When a project actually comes up in the field or land

10 is actually transferred to the forest department, serious sociological problems crops up. There is provision of settlement of Forest Rights, Pallisabha meetings etc. before the actual diversion of the forest land which somewhat guards the right of forest dwelling population. However, the same process does not exist for CA lands, so a similar kind of process should be adopted, at least a meeting should be conducted in the adjoining villages before proposing the compensatory afforestation lands; the Pali Sabha/village Panchayat should give a No objection Certificate for the CA land so that the confusion over the ownership and actual possession of the land is avoided. Many of the forest areas are not actually visited by officials due to Naxal fear, or they have a symbolical presence and the actual plantation is a long drawn process; the right and ownership, actual possession of a piece of land selected for raising CA should be pre-settled before proposing the land for raising compensatory afforestation. There is a great need to change the policy on land for raising compensatory afforestation, today we are only limited to ownership and encroachments (sometimes may or may not be reported, not noticed even), but do not look at the rights of the farmers and people depending on that land even though they are not the actual owners. In view of the field realities as described above, the involvement of the User Agencies should be much more to ensure success of plantation, now their involvement is limited to onl depositing the CA amount alone. For major diversions, also for major user Agencies, the task of raising compensatory Afforestation plantation should be given to the User Agencies on non forest lands(not under the ownership of Forest Department) as per the scheme prepared by the User Agency and approved by the State Forest Department, outside the PF or RF areas and they should raise and maintain the plantation for the entire period of their project, at least not less than 10 years. The local communities should be given their share on the outcome of such plantation in the form of rights over small timber, firewood, fruits and leaves with condition for maintenance. b. Connectivity between the forests: Saranda Forest is biodiversity rich forest, considered as zenith of sal forests of India, and the present application falls in the Saranda Forest and in the application location the crop is very good, canopy is thick. The richness of saranda forests has been described in many forestry books. At present a little areas of the entire Saranda has been cleared up for mining in areas like Kiriburu, Meghtuburu, Nuamundi, Chiria, Gua etc. and the rest of the forest is virgin and very rich in biodiversity. Due to further mining the virgin areas are going to be further disturbed and there will be fragmentation of the forests, forcing the wildlife to confine to smaller and smaller areas. This forest is the habitat of the wild elephants and much wildlife, and they are likely to be affected and there will be frequent mananimal conflicts. Presently to avoid man animal conflicts, we are confining

11 the wildlife to shrinking habitats by digging trenches, erecting walls or fences or installing elephant proof electric fences. It is a fact that the habitats of the wildlife are getting fragmented and the connectivity between different forest patches are slowly getting lost. The forest connectivity is required for the exchange of gene pool; else the vitality of wild animals in the confined area will be low. Since there is chance of fragmentation of further forest areas, there is a much greater need to ensure connectivity between large chunks of forests in Saranda itself, and adjacent forested areas in the Jharkhand and Orissa in general, the Saranda forests is likely to lose its distinctiveness unless properly protected and properly connected. The study on bio diversity, its conservation and propagation should be carried out by multiple agencies using most modern techniques from a much broader angle, instead of narrowing down to smaller location so that irreversible damage can be avoided. There should be proper planning to ensure proper connection between significant chunks of forests, no significant chunk of forest should go without proper connection. c. Protection of river systems: Saranda Forest is the origins of different stream, many of them are perennial, though the volumes of water during the summer months are much less, and they mainly feed on Karo and Koina river systems. The thick vegetation of the Saranda forests facilitates precipitation and even during the peak summer months water is available. Due to the mining there will be destruction of some areas which lead to shortage of water and will result in pollution of river unless proper steps are taken. 14. RECOMMENDATIONS OF CCF (CENTRAL): The instant proposal is for the diversion of ha of forest land for Iron and manganese Ore mining by M/s JSW Steel Ltd. in ankua-hatanaburu area of Manoharpur Taluka of Saranda Forest division, West Singhbhum district, Jharkhand. On perusing the records and the site inspection report of the Conservator of Forests, the following observations are made for consideration : i. Fragmentation of Forest connectivity: The Saranda Forest is endowed with pristine biodiversity having rich flora and fauna. Barring a few forest diversion, most of the Saranda forest is undisturbed yet. However, several mining proposals are in the pipeline to be operational in Saranda in the near future. Considering the rich biodiversity of the area and the pristine habitat of elephant which is also vital with reference to its strategic importance serving the interstate elephant migratory connectivity to the adjoining forests of Orissa, West Bengal and Chattisgarh, the future fragmentation of the habitat shall be the most crucial issue. It may be appropriate to conduct a interstate level study of the said forest region instead of impact study of any individual mine or group of mines to assess the impact of the upcoming non-forestry activities in the region in general and Saranda forest in particular. ii. Biodiversity study

12 Considering the rich floral and faunal biodiversity of Saranda forest area, a detail study of the biodiversity along with EIA and EMP has been re-assessed by the User agency through the National Institute, ICFRE, Dehradun. The detail study report has been quite exhaustive in assessing the biodiversity of the surrounding area, possible mining impact and a detail mitigation plan for implementation by the User agency. iii. Natural water source management: Karo and Koina are the major river system of the Saranda area and the river Karo goes nearby to which most of the nallahs in Gua area discharge their water. A lot of mining activities are proposed in the Ghatkuri range which will adversely affect the natural water resource of the area. There should be enough steps for protection of the river system, so that sufficient water is available during the lean period. Miners and the nearby industries should not be permitted to use water from the rivers during the lean period for which they have to create their own water storage tanks in the lease area. The ICFRE, Dehradun engaged by the User agency to conduct detail EIA/EMP report in which ICFRE has extensively studied the catchment area which may possibly be affected by the future mining and has come out with a special Rs.273 lakh CAT plan (catchment treatment plan) for a mining project to be implemented by the User agency. iv. Top Soil Storage The top soil is the most important biologically active soil, so the top soil should be properly preserved in sweet condition for use during phased reclamation and reafforestation. v. Closure of Mine: Closure of mine should be essentially focused with a mine closure plan formulated right from the beginning o the mine, so that a reasonably good/better final land use can be achieved in comparison to the original land use prior to mining. Agricultural land and forest land may be reclaimed accordingly to be maintained as such in the final land use along with creation of water bodies with due accessibility for human and wildlife to those water bodies. vi. Evacuation/transportation of iron ore : A lot of mining and other activities are proposed in the Saranda area, the pristine forest is likely to be further fragmented and biotically pressurized by transportation and other ancillary activities. The present road network will not be able to cater to such huge transportation load in view of large scale extraction being envisaged in future. Road transport of coal should not be permitted under any circumstances.

13 The user agency has proposed to use rail transport and closed pipe conveyor belt evacuation of ore from mines to the railway siding, which should be implemented for the sake of forest and environment of Saranda. vii. Planting and Management of Compensatory afforestation : Considering the quality of C.A. and its long term survival, in my considered opinion, the C.A. should be raised and maintained by the User agency for the entire life of the mining project and handed over after that to the department free from all encumbrances. The user agency will be responsible for proper maintenance and in case of failure, the mining operation can be suspended. Such areas of large size should be declared as RF only and not as PF. With the above observations the proposal for the diversion ha forest land for the mining project is forwarded with recommendation for consideration and taking appropriate decision keeping in mind the high tree density between and comparative account of vegetation parameters within the mine lease area and surrounding area. ****