Centre waives public hearings for atomic, critical mineral mining citing national security

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023, lists atomic, critical, and strategic minerals, with the Centre emphasising their exploration and extraction to reduce import dependence.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has reportedly exempted mining projects involving atomic, critical, and strategic minerals from mandatory public consultations, citing national defence and security imperatives.

The decision, issued through a fresh office memorandum (OM), comes following requests from the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), it has been learnt from an Indian Express report.

However, while public hearings will no longer be required, such projects will still undergo a comprehensive appraisal by sector-specific expert committees and evaluated at the central level regardless of their size.

The ministry invoked provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, which already allow exemptions for projects concerning national security and strategic considerations.

The Defence Ministry, in its request on August 4, stressed the importance of rare earth elements for military use, including radars, sonars, navigation aids, communication systems, precision-guided munitions, and armoured vehicles. It warned that with supplies concentrated in limited parts of the world, India faces “huge supply risks” unless domestic sources are tapped, stated the report.

Moreover, the DAE, separately in its August 29 letter, underlined the role of thorium from monazite beach sand and uranium deposits in India’s three-stage nuclear energy programme, seeking a similar exemption to speed up mining approvals.

Earlier this year, the Centre created a dedicated category for critical minerals on its online clearance portal Parivesh and amended the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023, to ease forest clearances for such projects.

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023, lists atomic, critical, and strategic minerals, with the Centre emphasising their exploration and extraction to reduce import dependence.