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Licence to pollute

Environmental clearance has more to do with regional environmental concerns than local impacts. This is clear from the rapid EIA report for the Shakti Bauxite mine. The assessment has to justify whether the lease area or the buffer zone is ecologically fragile, but it does not have to explain how the mine will affect people. It has a separate section on climate and meteorology, where it will explain how air pollution from the mines will be dispersed, but it does not have to explain how trucks will add to air pollution and cause road hazard. It can simply say that its mines are not located near settlements but not explain how mines in the backyards of settlements will affect agriculture and water systems. The EIA process is concerned with biodiversity and critical ecosystems, but not with people's living environment. The weakest link is the water systems. The miner can explain away impacts by saying that it will use little water and discuss rivers but ignore streams feeding them. People may not live off the river, but they depend on streams.

Project proponents can get away with murder with right paperwork. No wonder people of Betul, Fatorpa, Quitol, Naqueri, Velim and Morpila say they will allow this licence to pollute only over their dead bodies.

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