From cree@bom2.vsnl.net.in Tue May 1 19:45:57 2001
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 10:51:52 +0530
From: Ashish Fernandes
To: Natural History of South Asia - General discussion and research
Subject: Fw: EIA/KUDREMUKH MINING (
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> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 13:18:22 +0100 (BST)
> From: "[iso-8859-1] M. Sunil Kumar"
> To: fred@bytesforall.org
> Subject: EIA/KUDREMUKH MINING
>
> Dear All,
>
> A news item which appeared in Deccan herald today says
> no to mining in Kudremukh. The same article can be
> accessed at
> http://deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr22/ieco.htm
>
> Sunil Kumar M
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> Eco report dampens KIOCL prospects
>
> By Sunil Kumar M
> DH News Service
> BANGALORE, April 21
>
> In what could virtually seal the future prospects of
> Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (Kiocl), a Rapid
> Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Report has said
> that no mining should be allowed in Gangdikal and
> Nellibeedu areas.
> The study, commissioned at the instance of the
> Ministry of Environment and Forests to look into the
> impact on flora and fauna of the Kudremukh National
> Park, has said it would cause immense damage to the
> biodiversity and water resources in the area.
> The opening up of Gangdikal would have a permanent
> effect on the Kudremukh plateau between northern and
> southern portions of the park, besides making an
> impact on the Tunga river system which is at present
> not under any influence of mining. This would also
> make it totally incompatible with the existence of a
> National Park in this biodiversity rich region, the
> study says. Mining at Nellibeedu would directly open
> up 321 hectares(ha) of grasslands and the unique shola
> forests.
> While Forest Department officials refused to comment,
> environmentalists, however, hailed it, stating that it
> gives necessary impetus towards preventing mining in
> protected areas and that it would be illegal if the
> government goes ahead and extends the lease for new
> areas.
> The report has been prepared by a team of ecologists
> and engineers of the Centre for Ecological Sciences,
> Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of
> Science among other institutions.
> Submitted in February 2001 to the ministry, the report
> will form the basis for it to decide on whether the
> 30-year lease, which expired in July 1999, should be
> renewed. It will also decide whether fresh areas at
> Gangdikal and Nellibeedu inside the Kudremukh National
> Park should be given for mining.
> KIOCL has been pressing for renewal of the mining
> lease for another 20 years. The proposed area is about
> three times the area (1,233 ha) mined presently. A
> temporary mining permit for one year was issued last
> year allegedly under pressure from the Prime
> Minister's Office against the wishes of Forest
> Department on condition that no new areas will be
> mined. The PMO also urged the State Government to
> exclude the proposed areas and all other areas held by
> KIOCL from the final notification of the park.
> Mining operations began in 1980 within a leased area
> of 3,202 ha of forest land and 1,401 ha of revenue
> land. About 227.5 million tonnes have been mined as of
> January 1999. The iron ore wastes are dumped in the
> Lakya dam (which almost developed a breach in 1992)
> which is nearly full and has submerged 572 ha of a
> shola forest out of which 340 ha falls outside the
> lease boundary as an encroachment into the Park. KIOCL
> has proposed to build another earthen fill dam across
> the Kachighole stream (tributory of the Bhadra river)
> for storage of iron ore waste. This stream supports
> the mahseer fish which is regarded as a highly
> endangered species. The report says that this move
> could submerge an additional 210 ha of wildlife
> habitat in the area.
> Located in the Western Ghats, one of the18
> biodiversity hotspots of the world, the Kudremukh
> National Park covers an area of 600.32 sq km. The park
> receives a very high rainfall and gives birth to three
> major rivers in Karnataka -- the Bhadra, the Tunga and
> the Nethravathi. The picturesque park has a
> significant number of rare and endangered flora and
> fauna. It also supports the largest population of the
> highly endangered lion-tailed macaque. Earlier the
> National Environmental Engineering Research Institute
> (NEERI), which studied the impact of mining on the
> Bhadra river, had shown iron concentrations in excess
> of the standards stipulated near the mine discharge
> areas. All the three rivers on which several thousand
> lives depend would be at risk.
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
>
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