The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is planning to make public hearings mandatory for all mining licences coming up for renewal or where the mine is going in for expansion. The move is expected to add another layer of control over mining activities at a time when the Prime Minister’s Office is keen to ease regulations and speed up projects. Public hearing is a mandatory step in the process of environmental clearance for addressing concerns of affected persons which is conducted by the state pollution control board (SPCB). It is supposed to be completed within 45 days from the date of receipt of the request letter from the applicant, but often, the time taken is much more. Normally, the process is adopted while giving a fresh mining lease. “When it comes to mining renewal or expanding existing operations, a new environment clearance is required and that makes public hearing a must. This is so because the overburden area increases in case of open cast mining, which causes greater environmental damage,” said a senior environment ministry official. The proposal is also likely to be included in the draft new mining bill that is currently being vetted by a parliamentary standing committee. Open cast mining is a method in which the excavation or cut is made at the ground level for extracting ore and which is open to the surface for the duration of a mine’s life. At present, almost 75-80% mining in the country is overground, which is a cause of concern for the environment. The working of underground mines is more environment friendly than open cast ones as the pollution level in and around the mining area is reduced significantly in the case of the former. The ministry had earlier directed that leases of minor minerals including their renewal for an area less than 5 hectares should be granted by the states only after getting environmental clearance from the MoEF. The changes would cover all minerals now and could impact mining projects of all large companies like the Tatas, Aditya Birla Group, SAIL, Nalco , Sterlite and NMDC. Several mining leases of these companies are under renewal or could come up for renewal soon. “I do not see the rationale of conducting public hearing and going through cumbersome clearance process all over again for companies that had already taken these while getting new mining leases. This would only delay projects,” said an official of a public sector company, asking not to be named. Sources said MoEF is firm following the rules even for existing mines as many of them are operating without any formal environment clearance. “There were no clearances before 1994 and those mines are operating without them. All of them should have got their environmental clearances regulated,” the official said. Under the new regime, companies must hold public hearing a year before their mining lease lapses. The ministry also wants a third-party audit of measures taken by companies towards complying with the EC process. In case of expansion of existing mines, the process would be mandatory only if the project involves taking up the mine capacity by 25%. The mines ministry and MoEF are currently engaged in discussions to allow this waiver.