• With the pace of development, India''s demand for minor minerals such as sand and gravel has surpassed 60 million metric tons.
• It is the second largest extractive industry after water.
• However, Illegal and rampant mining of minor minerals continues to spread.
• Since a number of related frauds were discovered across the country, more laws and oversight have been implemented for the extraction of important minerals.

Laws around extraction of minor minerals

• The state governments are exclusively responsible for the regulatory and administrative powers to set rules, establish royalty rates, grant mineral concessions, enforce laws of minor minerals.
• The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notifications of 1994 and 2006 made environmental clearance compulsory for mining in areas greater than or equal to five hectares. 
• After supreme court’s intervention, EIA was amended in 2016 which made environmental clearance mandatory for mining in areas less than five hectares, including minor minerals. 
• A District Environment Impact Assessment Authority (EIAA) and a District Expert Appraisal Committee were also established as part of the amendment (EAC).

Issues in minor mineral extraction  

Regulatory issues

• A State-wise review of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states that the rejection rate for the extraction of minor mineral projects by EAC and EIAA has been a mere 1%.
• This shows the lenient approach in giving clearances to such projects.
• It raises a question on whether introducing clearances alone can help eliminate irregularities in the illegal mining of minor minerals.
• The problem of illegal mining of minor minerals is often under-estimated, leading to undesired environmental consequence.
• There are many cases of illegal mining of dolomite, marble and sand across the States.

Issue of Illegal sand mining

• According to the United Nations Environment Programme, India and China are the top two countries where illegal sand mining has resulted in severe environmental degradation.
• There is no comprehensive assessment available to evaluate the scale of sand mining in India.
• The Centre for Science and Environment of the Yamuna riverbed in Uttar Pradesh have observed that increasing demand for soil has severely affected soil formation and the soil holding ability of the land.
• This led to a loss in marine life, an increase in flood frequency, droughts, and degradation of water quality.
• These effects are also seen in the beds of Godavari, Narmada and Mahanadi basins. 
•  As a study in the Narmada basin points out, sand mining has reduced the Mahseer fish population by 76% between 1963 and 2015.

Stress on state exchequer

• Illegal mining causes copious losses to the state exchequer.
• Example:
• Uttar Pradesh loses revenue from 70% of mining activities because only 30% of the area is legally mined.
• Absence of royalty has caused a loss of ₹700 crore in Bihar.
• In 2016-17, non-payment of various cesses due to unregulated mining resulted in a loss of ₹100 crore to Karnataka and ₹600 crore to Madhya Pradesh.

Neglecting Judicial order

• Judicial orders are often neglected by State governments.
• As per Oversight Committee of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Uttar Pradesh has failed or partially complied with the orders issued regarding compensation for illegal sand mining.
• This lack of compliance can also be found in West Bengal, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.
• The reasons behind the non-compliance are-
• Malfunction of governance due to weak institutions,
• A scarcity of state resources to ensure enforcement,
• Poorly designed regulatory provisions,
• Inadequate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms,
• Excessive litigation that weakens the state’s administrative capacity.

Suggestions

• A robust technology-driven enforcement approach is required for grating clearances to mineral extraction projects by EAC and EIAA.
• To keep a check on illegal mining, technology must be used to provide a sustainable solution.
• Satellite imagery can be used to monitor the extraction rate and also check the mining process. 
• Well-planned implementation of the NGT direction of using satellite imagery to monitor the volume of sand extraction from the riverbeds can increase the income from minor mineral mining in all these States.
• Drones, the internet of things (IoT) and blockchain technology can be used to monitor mechanisms by using the Global Positioning System, radar and Radio Frequency (RF) Locator.
• Protecting minor minerals requires investment in measuring production and consumption as well as monitoring and planning tools.

It is necessary to ensure better surveillance of minor minerals through technological interventions to check illegal mining and transportation in a time bound manner. The state government must develop an effective action plan to stop the unlawful mining that has caused the state exchequer to lose a significant amount of money.