In a move that may have wider implications, the national board for wildlife (NBWL) – an apex body that takes calls on conservation issues – has decided not to treat extraction of natural gas or oil as a mining activity under existing law on mines & minerals regulation in green areas.
Taking a call on projects near Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary in Tripura, the standing committee of the board in its last meeting recommended the proposals for diversion of forest land by going ahead with the opinion of state advocate general and solicitor general (SG) of India.
Minutes of the meeting, put out by environment ministry in public domain on October 8, show that the SG in its opinion, sought by ONGC, has expressed that extraction of natural gas and oil (which includes exploration and development) is not a mining activity when compared to a traditional open cast mining carried out upon large tract of land and that it cannot be considered as mining in terms of the Supreme Court’s August 2006 order on the issue.
Experts have, however, noted that the move would be disastrous for the environment and wildlife around national parks and sanctuaries.
“The Supreme Court order of 2006 relates to prohibiting mining activities within a distance of one km from the boundaries of national park and sanctuaries…The exemption has now been granted to both exploration and development of oil and gas. This is against the letter and spirit of the SC order which aims at a ‘no-go zone’ as far as one km is concerned,” said Ritwick Dutta of Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE).
Terming the decision of the NBWL’s standing committee a “regressive” one, Dutta, an environmental lawyer, cited an example of the Baghjan gas leak incident of Assam that caused massive environmental damage to the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Maguri-Motapung Wetland last year.
Underlining importance of provisions which could restrict certain activities around ecologically sensitive areas, the LIFE in it analysis noted that the purpose of the restriction was to provide for a buffer area so far as National Parks and Sanctuaries are concerned so that there is no disturbance in the immediate vicinity of Protected areas. The order was passed since the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 did not directly provide for any such restriction.
“However, the decision of the Standing Committee is based on the interpretation that extraction of natural gas/oil is not a mining activity under Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. It is pertinent to point out that the Supreme Court in its order never stated that mining refers to mining as defined in the MMDR Act,” it said.
Dutta said, “The true purport of the Supreme Court order is to ensure that there is no destruction or disturbance in the immediate vicinity of National Parks and Sanctuaries through mining. The definition of Mine under the Mines Act, 1952 clearly includes Oil and Gas.”
