Drilling of bore holes on forest land for prospecting of minerals and oil exploration will not be exempted from the ambit of clearances, the environment ministry's forest advisory committee (FAC) said, turning down requests from coal ministry, mines ministry and ministry of petroleum and natural gas. The FAC will, however, simplify the procedure for getting a forest clearance for oil exploration and mineral prospecting, showed minutes of its last meeting, held on March 22.
FAC is an apex panel of the environment ministry that appraises projects that seek diversion of forests for non-forestry purposes.
The expert panel was scrutinising requests from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, mines ministry and coal ministry. These ministries had sought relaxations in oil exploration and mineral prospecting on forest land. The FAC noted that there was enough evidence to show that drilling for minerals and oil and use of explosives causes considerable damage.
"The FAC is of the opinion that exploration may need to be done in forest area to assess mineral wealth of the country. But at the same time, forests are also equally important and therefore, the exploration may not be done in pristine forests, which cannot be parted away for mining," the FAC said.
While simplifying the procedure for approval, the ministry also made a slew of recommendations and imposed riders. General approvals would be granted to state governments for explorations and mineral prospecting on forest land that has a crown density of up to 40%, as per the latest report of Forest Survey of India. The ministry also directed that Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education to study impact of prospecting on forest and wildlife.
