Agenda-2. F.No. 8-73/2014-FC

Transcription

1 Agenda-2 F.No. 8-73/2014-FC Sub: Diversion of ha. of forest land for renewal of Mining Lease No. 2075/1799 to an extent of ha. for Iron Ore mining and other allied activities and 0.24 ha. for approach road in Sy. No. 192 of Kariganur Village, Hospet Reserve Forest, Hospet Taluk, Bellary District in favour of M/s Kariganur Mineral Mining Industry, Hospet, Bellary District, Karnataka. The State Government of Karnataka vide letter no. FEE.33. FFM 2013 dated 11/08/2014 submitted the proposal seeking prior approval of the Central Government for Diversion of ha. of forest land for renewal of Mining Lease No. 2075/1799 to an extent of ha. for Iron Ore mining and other allied activities and 0.24 ha. for approach road in Sy. No. 192 of Kariganur Village, Hospet Reserve Forest, Hospet Taluk, Bellary District in favour of M/s Kariganur Mineral Mining Industry, Hospet, Bellary District, Karnataka. Now we have received a letter dated 2 /01/2015 wherein they have forwarded site inspection report. Fact Sheet of the case as follows. FACT SHEET 1. Name of the Proposal Diversion of ha. of forest land for renewal of Mining Lease No. 2075/1799 to an extent of ha. for Iron Ore mining and other allied activities and 0.24 ha. for approach road in Sy. No. 192 of Kariganur Village, Hospet Reserve Forest, Hospet Taluk, Bellary District in favour of M/s Kariganur Mineral Mining Industry, Hospet, Bellary District, Karnataka. 2. Location (i) (ii) State District Karnataka Bellary 3. Particulars of Forests: (i) Name of Forest Division and Forest area involved. Bellary ha

2 (ii) Legal status/sy.no. Reserve Forest 4. Topography of the area - 5. (i) Geology (ii) Vulnerability to erosion - Not mentioned 6. (i) Vegetation (ii) Density (iii) No. of trees to be felled Eco- Class IV, Tropical Dry deciduous dense Forest. Not applicable as the entire area sought for clearance is already broken up. 7. Whether area is significant from wildlife point of view 8. Whether forms part of National park, Wildlife Sanctuary, Biosphere Reserve, Tiger Reserve, Elephant Corridor, etc. (if so, details of the area and comments of the Chief Wildlife Warden 9. Whether any RET species of flora and fauna are found in the area. If so details thereof 10. Approximate distance of the proposed site for diversion from boundary of forest. 11. Whether any protected archaeological/ heritage site/defence establishment or any other important monuments is located in the area. No, It is not a part of National Park, Wildlife Biosphere, Reserves, Tiger reserve, Elephant corridor etc. However, Daroji Karadidhama (Daroji Bear Sanctuary) is more than km. (Aerial Distance) from project area. There are old dumps which are planted with Glyricidia, Prosopis juliflora, Subabul & Cassia Siamea. Planted species has come-yp very well and dumps have been stablilized. Not mentioned Not mentioned

3 12. Whether any work of in violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 has been carried out (Yes/No). If yes details of the same including period of work done, action taken on erring officials. Whether work in violation is still in progress. 13. Whether the requirement of forest land as proposed by the user agency in col. 2 of Part-I is unavoidable and barest minimum for the project, if no recommended area item-wise with details of alternatives examined. 14. Site Inspection Report of the DCF (to be enclosed) in respect of status of compliance of conditions stipulated during earlier stipulated during earlier approvals 15. Whether clearance under the Environment (protection) Act, 1986 is required? Yes, as per the CEC report dated: M/s. Kariganr Mining & Mineral Industries, Hospet falls under category-ai., Encroachment details are as follows for both leases: 1) others ha Total ha Not provided Submitted. The DCF in his site inspection report has reported that inspection was done on and boundary demarcation, safety zone demarcation and progress of implementation of resettlement and rehabilitation measures undertaken by the user agency were inspected during inspection. The R &R works of garland drains, percolation pond being carried out. The garland drains need improvement. Similarly, the percolation pond, constructed besides big Check Dam needs to be provided with stone pitching and plaiting on earthen mounds. Planting in safety zone carried out, which needs to be improved. A copy of environment clearance dated granted by the MoEF 16. Compensatory Afforestation (i) Details of non-forest area/degraded forest area identified for CA, its distance from adjoining forest, number of patches, sixe of each patches. The user agency has identified 9.71 ha. of nonforest land in Sy. No. 16 of Ranganathapura village in Chitradurga taluka and district in lieu of area proposed for diversion. The user agency has remitted CA amount of Rs lakhs and also submitted an undertaking for pay the cost of difference of CA charges in favour of the Forest Department vide Annexure-11 enclosed in the

4 renewal proposal. The penal Compensatory Afforestation (PCA) over an extent of ha has been carried out at Kaivara in Kolar district. (Undertaking for this given by user Agency is enclosed as Annexure-12). (ii) Map showing nonforest/degraded forest area identified for CA and adjoining forest boundaries. (iii) Detailed CA scheme including species to be planted, implementing agency, time schedule, cost structure, etc. (iv) Total financial outlay for CA (v) Certificate from the competent authority regarding suitability of the area identified for CA and from management point of view. 17. Mine Plan along with progressive mine closure plan The required Map are submitted but they are not as per requirement. NA NA (Renewal Case) Mine Plan for renewal of mining lease has also been approved by the Indian Bureau of Mines vide their letter no. KNT/BLR/MP/Fe 262- SZ/1111 dated:06/12/ Catchment Area Treatment Not applicable 19. Rehabilitation of Oustees a) No of families involved b) Category of families c) Details of rehabilitation plan 20. Compliance of Scheduled Tribe and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, Not mentioned The area proposed for renewal falls under the jurisdiction of Sandur Municipality. There is no legal provisions under the Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act,2006 for settlement of rights in the areas falling in the Municipal Corporations. However, the user agency has submitted a NOC letter from papinayakanahalli Village Panchyat Office, for the purpose of the Schedule Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (No.2 of 2007 ) and Riles-

5 Cost Benefit Ratio 1:2.5. At the current rate it will be 1: Total Cost of the Project Lakhs 23. Recommendation i. DFO ii. CCF iii. Nodal Officer iv SG Yes, Pg49/c Yes, Pg53/c Yes, Pg 4/c Yes, Pg3/c 24. District Profile (i) Total Geographical area of the district 8420 Sq.Km. (ii) Total Forest area/divisional Forest area Sq.K.m (iii) Total area diverted since 1980 (iv) Total CA stipulated since 1980 (Forest land) ha. and totally 89 cases covered ha. (b) non-forest land. 25. Specific recommendations of the DCF for acceptance or otherwise of the proposal with reasons ha. The proposal may be accepted to following conditions: 1) 50% Payments of FDT dues of the amount of Rs. 6,59,01,365 /- 2) Withdrawal of pending court cases. 3) Compliance for the violation of lease agreement conditions.

6 Observation in the site inspection report:- (1) User Agency has sought forest area for different uses in which certain land uses like area for OB dumping (15.06 ha), area for stockyard (5.64 ha) and area for roads outside the mining pit (8.75 ha) appears to be a higher side. The area required for the above uses may be reassessed as per actual requirement. (2) The User Agency has proposed to keep Float area of ha. This may be excluded from diversion and the same need to be reclaimed by the Forest Department at the cost of User Agency. (3) Regarding the compliance of the conditions of Stage II approval given in the year 1997 regarding making available non forest land of 9.71 ha for Compensatory Afforestation in Sy. No.16 of Rangapura village, Hiriyur taluk, specific mutation of the said survey number against this project is not done. Therfore, the user Agency is required to get the land mutated in favour of Forest Department in order to notify the area as forest, before considering the renewal proposal. (4) It was reported that the compensatory Afforestation was done in the year 1995 whereas the Stage II approval was given only on This needs to be clarified by the State Government. Part-IV Detailed opinion & specific recommendation of the State Forest Department for acceptance or otherwise of the proposal with remarks. (While giving opinion, the adverse comments made by concerned Conservator of Forests or Deputy Conservator of Forests should be categorically reviewed and critically commented upon). In view of the approval of R7R plan for the Mining Lease No. 2075/1799, the Hon ble Supreme Court Orders dated , , and and the CEC letter dated , the proposal of the User Agency is submitted for considering the in-principal (Stage-1) approval for diversion of ha. of forest land for renewal of Mining Lease No. 2075/1799 to an extent of ha. for Iron Ore mining and other allied activities and 0.24 ha. for approach road in Sy.No.192 of Kariganur Village, Hospet Reserve Forest, Hospet Taulk, Bellary District in favour of M/s. Kariganur Mineral Mining Industry, Hospet, Bellary District, Karnataka State subject to the compliances of the specific conditions by the User Agency as appended in Annexure A and the general conditions contained therin.

7 The Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bellary has submitted the renewal proposal of M.L. No for diversion of ha. (as per CEC approved Sketch), of forest land for iron ore in Hospet Taluka, Bellary division in favour of M/s Kariganur Minerals Mining Industries, Hospet under the provision of forest (Conservaton) Act, 1980 in the Form-B part-1 duly filled in by the user agency and part-ii by the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bellary. Accordingly, the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bellary in his letter (5) cited above has submitted the renewal proposal for diversion of ha. for mining activities ha. for approach road outside the forest land to this office. The requirement of forest land for the project as per refrence (5) of Deputy Conservator of the Forests, Bellary, Form-B Part-1 by the user agency and proposed land use plan vide No. 5 is as below:- Proposed land use details Extent (in Ha.) 1 Area for Mining Area for Dumping Area for SGMD Area for Stock Area for Roads Area for statutory buildings Area for Camp Area under environmental protections Area for safety zone Bio-diversity area Float worked area under plantation Sub- total Area for approach road 0.24 Grand total

8 The mining lease area of M/s Kariganur Minerals Mining Industries M.L. no Hospet is situated in Sy. No. 192 of Kariganur village Hoapet TQ, Bellary Dist. On perusal of the report and proposal submitted by the Deputy Conservatoe of Forests, Bellary the following facts are brought to your Kind notice for taking further needful action in the matter- 1) Government of India and Government of Karnataka vide reference (1) & (2) had accorded approval fro diversion of ha. of forest land of Hospet Taulka under Section 2 of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 in favour of the user agency for 30 years. Consequent to above, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bellary division entered into an agreement with the user agency vide dated vide Annexure-16, which expired on The user agency had earlier submitted renewal application. 2) Now, after finalization of lease boundary by the CEF and approval of its R&R Plan, the User Agency has submitted renewal proposal as dircted by your Kind self, vide reference (3). Earlier the User Agency had earlier obtained FC clearance for ha. for mining. Now, the User Agency has submitted the renewal proposal for ha. for mining+0.24 ha. for approach road, in Hospet Taluka, Bellary division as per the lease deed sketch approved by the CEC,. 3) (a) The MMRD is for ha. The total extent of forest area approved under last FC is ha. However, small part of lease area over an extent of 0.83 ha. is under diversion for NH-63 within the FC sanctioned area. The approach road outside the lease area an extent of 0.24 ha. has been included in the proposal. The User Agency has applied, after joint survey with forest department, an extent of ha. for mining an d 0.24 ha. for approach road, totally ha. fro mining+0.24 ha. fro approach road, which totals to ha. (b) The user agency has identified 9.71 ha. of non-forest land in Sy. No. 16 of Ranganathapura village in Chitradurga taluka and district in lieu of area proposed for diversion. The user agency has remitted CA amount of Rs lakhs and also submitted an undertaking for pay the cost of difference of CA charges in favour of the Forest Department vide Annexure-11 enclosed in the renewal proposal. 4) The penal Compensatory Afforestation (PCA) over an extent of ha has been carried out at Kaivara in Kolar district. (Undertaking for this given by user Agency is enclosed as Annexure-12). 5) Compliance report for Government of India and Government of Karnataka and lease agreement conditions: The lessee has carried out Soil conservation measures like Plantation on dump slopes, Gap plantation, Planting fruit bearing plants, Construction of 2 No. check dams, Gully checks, Retaining wall, Agave plantation and 1 Rain water harvesting pond. The natural tree growth is preserved and protected to some extent; however in some areas User Agency has not complied this condition strictly. Suitable steps have been taken to prevent forest fires in & around the leased area by posting watchers. No fire line has been created and maintained. Lessee has not complied with the condition of protection of trees inside forest area, in the same of maintenance of damaged roads and exposed some areas causing damage to the existing trees.

9 There are old dumps which are planted with Glyricidia, prosopis juliflora, subabul & Cassia siamea. Planted species have come-up well and the dumps have been stabilized. The following are the non-compliance of lease agreement conditions: Lease Agreement Condition No Remarks 22 The natural tree growth is preserved and protected to some extent, however in some areas UA has not complied this condition strictly. 23 Suitable steps taken to prevent forest fires in & around the leased area by posting watchers. No fire line has been created and Maintained. 24 Lessee has not complied strictly and in the name of for maintenance of roads some trees have been damaged and tree roots exposed. 25 User agency has violated the transit rules of Karnataka Forest Act & Rules. Forest Department has booked FOC against lessee vide FOC No:-15,16,17,40,41,68,69,70,71,72,73/ cased are compounded. 26 The UA has remitted lease rent up-to-date. Regarding FDT, DCF office, Bellary requested to remit the 50% of the FDT dues as per the Audit report of the PCCF office. The user agency has not remitted the FDT amount of Rs. 6,59,01,365 /- Further the UA has given undertaking for payment of all does if any with applicable interest, which is enclosed vide Anneuxre Not Complied 33 Violated and Forest offence cases have been booked. 34 The lessee has violated (Conservation) Act, as per the Hon ble lokayukta report, Forest offence case has been booked vide FOC No. 63/ and as per CEC report, 1.69 ha Forest land has been encroached.

10 36 Violated and Forest offence cases have been booked. 39 Not Complied 40 Not Complied 41 Not Complied 42 Afforestation for 1 ½ of times degraded forest has been carried out at Hospet RF over an extent of ha. Safety Zone afforestation and fencing of safety zone purpose, Rs. 1,89,000/- has been remitted. Undertaking for the implementation of Safety Zone regulation is enclosed vide Annexure-18. Safety Zone map enclosed vide Plate no.6. The ground demarcation of Safety Zone of 7.5 mtr width inside the lease from the boundary has not been done. Some area in this has been planted. 6) The User Agency has completed physical demarcation of the lease area sought for renewal on the ground with corner pillars, as per lease deed sketch by joint team and approved by CEC and details of GPS readings are enclosed in the Annexure-14. 7) Approach road: The User Agency has proposed over an extent of 0.24 (220 mtr length *11 mtr width) ha for approach road outside the FC area. (Enclosed Plate No.7). 8) The Safety Zone Map is provided in PLATE No.6 of the renewal proposal. The User Agency has not demarcated the SafetyZone inside the leased area on the ground with intermediate pillars as per the new guidelines of the Government of India dated However, some portion of safety zone has been planted with Honge, Neem plants etc and undertaking for the implementation of safety zone is enclosed vide Annexure-18. 9) The user agency has submitted copy of the mining plan approved by the IBM on vide Annexure-5. 10) The R & R plan of the mine has been prepared by ICFRE & approved by the CEC on , vide Annexure-6 The annual permissible production of 0.43 MMT has been fixed for the mine, based on reserve capacity. The User Agency has submitted undertaking for implementation R & R plan approved by the CEC, The user agency has carried out some R &R works. Some planting works have been done, de-silting of check dam, construction of Nalabund, drainage work for the haulage road, avenue plantation are under progress. The status of R&R works has been submitted vides Annexure-7 of the renewal proposal. 11) The density of vegetation is Eco-class-IV topical dry decidous Dense Forests. NPV shall be demanded after approval of the renewal application by MOEF, GOI. Undertaking for this is enclosed as Annexure ) The proposed site does not form a part of national park, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve, tiger reserve or elephant corridor. 13) The user agency has not submitted the letter of intent issued by the Commerce and Industries department which expired on and notification of the Commerce and Industries department dated , vide Annexure-1.

11 14) The map submitted by the user agency are land use plan, approach road, safety zone plan, & CEC approved joint survey lease deed sketch, along with the proposal is verified at the field. The GPS reading shown in the map are found correct. 15) Compliance report to the conditions stipulated by the Government of India and Government of Karnataka for FC approval of ha. on & respectively and agreement condition of FC approval have been submitted by user agency. The remarks of Deputy coservator of Forests, Bellary on the status of the compliance is enclosed vide page no. 10 to 23 of the proposal. 16) Regarding compliance of Forest Rights Act, the user agency has submitted the consent of Gram Sabha held on , vide letter of Papinayanakanahalli Gram Panchayat, vide Annexure ) The user agency has submitted undertaking regarding payment of Lease Rent and Supervision Charges. The Undertaking is enclosed, vide Annexure ) The user agency has submitted undertaking regarding payment of all pending dues, vide Annexure ) Copy of the Board of Directors authorizing to file the application for FC Clearance is enclosed, vide Annexure-XIV & XV. 20) The details of Forests Offence cases booked against the user agency involved in the forest offence is as below: SL. FOC No. & Date Nature of Offence Status of Case Remarks NO / Illegal felling, clearing forest land, waste dump sliding [15- Nos.] KFA-1963 Sec / Violation of transit rule. KFA (e) / Violation of transit rule. KFA (e) / Violation of transit rule. KFA (e) Case is pending 374/ Dt: DCF office ordedrno. 375/ Dt: / Dt: The joint survey of all the mining leaseshave been carried out and encroachment details reported by the CEC,as per the directions of the Hon able Supreme Court in W.P. No. 562/2009. Forest offence cases have been booked by the Forest Department for their violations. Hence, the matter is pending before the Hon ble

12 05. 40/ Violation of transit rule / Violation of transit rule. Case is pending. Case is pending. Court. It is requested to seek legal opinion for the forest offence cases against the UA / Violation of transit rule / Violation of transit rule / Violation of transit rule / Violation of transit rule. 311/ Dt: / Dt: / Dt: / Dt: The joint survey of all the mining leases have been carried out and encroachment details reported by the CEC as per the directions of Hon ble Supreme Court in W.P. No. 562/2009. Forest offence cases have been booked by the Forest Department for their violations. Hence, the matter is pending before the Hon ble Supreme Court. It is requested to seek legal opinion for the forest offence cases against the UA / Violation of transit rule. 315/ Dt: / Violation of transit rule. 316/

13 Dt: / Violation of transit rule. As per sketch receieved from the Hon ble Lokayukta the encroachment is 0.02 ha. Case is pending. 21) COURT CASES: The following Court cases are pending in the Hon ble Supreme Court. a.) S.L.P. No /2009: The lease was granted within 2 kms radius of ancient Sri Jambunatheswara Temple. The case is pending in Hon ble Supreme Court. b.) W.P. No /2010: The user agency has filled wright petition against Notification dated: & Government letter adted : towards payment of FDT. The Hon ble High Court passed an interim orded to remit 50% of FDT on sale value. The acse is pending in Hon ble High Court of Karnataka. The issues pertains to collection and levying has been discussed at Head office with APCCF(FC). Hence, it is requested to seek legal opinion and clarification regarding FDT levying from the Government for further action in this regard. 22). The mining lease area is located within 2 Kms radius of Jambunatheswara Temple. There is a SLP (SLP 20180/2009) pending in Hon ble Supreme Court in this regard. 23). The User Agency has violated the conditions of agreement, as well as KFA 1963 and KFR 1969 and also FC Act, 1980 by encroachment of forest land (1.69 ha.), as per the CEC approved lease dead sketch. Hence, the M.L. is kept in category-a1. In view of the facts as explained above and having inspected the said area on and while agreeing with the self-contained letter of the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bellary and request of the user agency in seeking the renewal of the ha. for mining and approach road purposes in Hospet RF, Hospet Taluka, Bellary division is recommended for 10 years, with following conditions:

14 1. The user agency shall undertake to complete demarcation and fencing of the safety zone area within 7.5 m of lease boundary, as per GOI MoEF stipulation and undertake planting and regeneration works in the safety zone area for development of green belt. 2. The user agency shall raise/procure and plant sufficient number of good quality seedlings of Fruit yielding and Miscellaneous species as per R&R Plan and also plant suitable local/ native species and, Agave etc on the dump slopes at the earliest. 3. The user agency shall undertake measures to arrest runoff and soil erosion from its lease area and from 100 meters of its boundary, so that the flow of eroded soil and runoff, because of its operation do not pollute the adjoining forest and the streams. 4. It will undertake specific measures to reclaim and rehabilitate the Gullies formed because of unrestricted run off from the steep slopes of the area. 5. The lessee shall undertake rigid fire protection measures in the area leased to them and up to 1 km forest area around the lease. 6. The lessee shall maintain the R&R structures and Plantations raised/to be raised by it in proper condition. 7. The user agency should unconditionally undertake to pay the arrears of FDT, arrived as per the Hon ble High Court interim order. 8. Complete compliance and fulfillment of the conditions of the earlier lease agreement and that of GoK and GoI conditions. 9. The user agency shall pay the amount towards Compensatory Payment, as per Hon ble Supreme Court orders for the encroachments of area and offences done by it and recorded by the Joint Team and approved by CEC.

15 10. The user agency has violated FC Act and lease conditions on several occasions and hence any further violation should entail cancellation and termination of lease. 11. After 5 years, there should be a review regarding compliance of the lease conditions and if it the lessee is found wanting in regard to them or found in violation of them, then penalties shall be imposed and the FC lease may be suspended, till such time all the compliances are fully complied with. 12. In the instant proposal the Govt of India letter dated granted first reewal of mining lease in favour of Kariganur mineral mining industry,hospet over an area of ha and the condition no.6 in that order states that the lease period shall be co terminus with the mining lease subject to maximum of 30 years.the lease period for 30 years was given with effect from as per the corrigendum issued by the Govt of Karnataka letter No.C1.79-MMM.81 dated Originally the ML was granted for a period of 30 years with effect from for an area of ha in favour of M/s Gadagi Mineral mining industry and the lease was transferred to Kariganur Mineral Mining industry,hospet.the mining lease was further renewed for a period of 30 years from and the lease period has expired on Accordingly the balance area of 70 ha was surrendered to the Forest Department.The User Agency had applied for renewal to the State Govt on As per the recent MMDR amendment ordinance,2015 issued on ,section 8A(3) all mining leases granted before the commencement of the ordinance shall be deemed to have been granted for a period of 50 years. 15. preliminary scrutiny of the proposal revealed following shortcomings: i. Documentary evidence regarding compliance to Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 in accordance with MoEF Advisory dated may be submitted alongwith the proposal by the State Government. ii. Survey of India toposheet on 1:50,000 scale showing area proposed for diversion. iii. Digital map (Differential GPS) showing Geo-referenced boundary in shape file of the forest land proposed for diversion duly authenticated by the competent authority in the State Government. iv. A differential GPS cap showing area identified for the compensatory afforestation (CA) and status of CA undertaken. v. Map showing details of protected areas in 10 km radius from the boundary of area proposed for diversion and details of mines. vi. Mine Plan approved by IBM The State Government, was requested to furnish the information on the shortcomings of the proposal, as indicated above, to this Ministry at the earliest for further consideration of the proposal under section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980,which is still awaited. In view of the above, the proposal is submitted for consideration of the FAC.