New Environmental Clearance Guidelines Ease Land Acquisition Requirements for Non-Coal Mining Projects

Significant Changes in Environmental Clearance Process

New Delhi: Developers of non-coal mining projects are no longer required to provide proof of land acquisition to obtain environmental clearance, as per a new memorandum issued by the Ministry of Environment.

Previously, the ministry mandated that proof of land acquisition be submitted as part of the environmental clearance process.

This requirement was reassessed following appeals that consent from landowners should not be a condition for granting environmental clearance (EC) for non-coal mining initiatives, and that land acquisition status should not be tied to the clearance process.

According to an official memorandum, the issue was presented to the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for non-coal mining, which concluded that the request to separate landowner consent from the EC process is reasonable and should be implemented.

The EAC also noted that numerous mining projects have commenced operations after receiving EC, while land acquisition continues to progress in phases as needed.

The memorandum highlighted that the recommendations from the non-coal mining EAC were reviewed, and feedback regarding the relevance of the office memorandum dated October 7, 2014, as amended, was solicited for other sectors. It was determined that requiring land acquisition documentation during the EC appraisal may not be feasible for certain projects.