9 NOV, 2012, RAKHI MAZUMDAR, ET BUREAU
KOLKATA: Steel Authority of India Ltd., the country's largest state-owned steel company, is hopeful of being allowed to carry on mining activity in a key iron ore mine at Bolani in Orissa, even though a portion of the mining area falls under an elephant corridor. The environment ministry had refused to renew the state-owned company's mining permit in the area which expires on November 10.
Orissa plans to set up a passage way for elephants near the Bolani mines. Top SAIL officials were in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday to discuss the issue with state government officials. As part of a solution, a portion of the mining area could be earmarked for the elephant corridor, while mining activity is likely to be allowed in the remaining portion.
"The state government is expected to recommend allowing diversion of a part of the disputed area for mining, excluding the elephant corridor to the union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) shortly," a top official source close to the developments said. "The mine may have to be shut down for a period of 10-12 days in the interim period, pending clearance from MoEF," the source added.
The elephant corridor will take up nearly 25-30 % of the total area where SAIL currently undertakes mining activity. The state government will also constitute a committee comprising elephant experts from Orissa and Jharkhand to take up a scientific study of the elephant movement in the area. The Bolani mine which serves SAIL plants in the eastern region, is a crucial source of feedstock for SAIL accounting for almost a fifth of its iron ore output and nearly three million tonnes of steelmaking capacity.
SAIL may have to compensate for the temporary closure of the mine by producing more from other mines in the area and by blending it with low-grade ore. The company, which produces nearly 24 million tonnes of iron ore from its captive mines, has recently signed an MoU for a new mine at Eklama in Chhatisgarh even as it is battling Maoists threats to develop the greenfield iron ore mines at Rowghat.
Incidentally, the country's elephant population was 27,694 in 2007-08, according to the information posted on MoEF's official website. Out of this, about 1,862 elephants were estimated to be in Orissa, where a significant portion of prime elephant habitat has allegedly been encroached by mines.
KOLKATA: Steel Authority of India Ltd., the country's largest state-owned steel company, is hopeful of being allowed to carry on mining activity in a key iron ore mine at Bolani in Orissa, even though a portion of the mining area falls under an elephant corridor. The environment ministry had refused to renew the state-owned company's mining permit in the area which expires on November 10.
Orissa plans to set up a passage way for elephants near the Bolani mines. Top SAIL officials were in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday to discuss the issue with state government officials. As part of a solution, a portion of the mining area could be earmarked for the elephant corridor, while mining activity is likely to be allowed in the remaining portion.
"The state government is expected to recommend allowing diversion of a part of the disputed area for mining, excluding the elephant corridor to the union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) shortly," a top official source close to the developments said. "The mine may have to be shut down for a period of 10-12 days in the interim period, pending clearance from MoEF," the source added.
The elephant corridor will take up nearly 25-30 % of the total area where SAIL currently undertakes mining activity. The state government will also constitute a committee comprising elephant experts from Orissa and Jharkhand to take up a scientific study of the elephant movement in the area. The Bolani mine which serves SAIL plants in the eastern region, is a crucial source of feedstock for SAIL accounting for almost a fifth of its iron ore output and nearly three million tonnes of steelmaking capacity.
SAIL may have to compensate for the temporary closure of the mine by producing more from other mines in the area and by blending it with low-grade ore. The company, which produces nearly 24 million tonnes of iron ore from its captive mines, has recently signed an MoU for a new mine at Eklama in Chhatisgarh even as it is battling Maoists threats to develop the greenfield iron ore mines at Rowghat.
Incidentally, the country's elephant population was 27,694 in 2007-08, according to the information posted on MoEF's official website. Out of this, about 1,862 elephants were estimated to be in Orissa, where a significant portion of prime elephant habitat has allegedly been encroached by mines.
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