TNN & AGENCIES
New Delhi/Jammu: The hills around the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu & Kashmir, visited by lakhs of pilgrims every year, will soon see mining activity with a high level Union environment ministry panel giving a conditional clearance to the proposal.
The ecologically sensitive hills where mining would take place are under the shrine board’s jurisdiction and environmental groups are alarmed that such a plan was approved. The proposal by Jammu & Kashmir Mineral Development Corporation to mine mangnesite was cleared by the standing committee of National Board for Wildlife at a meeting chaired by Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan.
The committee also gave approval for setting up Dead Burnt Magnesia Plant near a sanctuary, home to endangered species like leopard, goral and peafowl. “The committee after discussions recommended the proposal with the conditions proposed by the chief wildlife warden, Jammu & Kashmir,” a ministry document said.
Hong Kong-based Asia Monitor Resource Centre’s executive director Sanjiv Pandita told TOI, “This is outrageous. The area being prospected is environmentally fragile. I don’t understand the compulsion… There is good tourism there; why ruin the hills?”
The convener of the shrine board, R K Goel, told TOI, “The wildlife presence will not be disturbed by the mining. We don’t have reports of the presence of animals near the shrine area.”
The J&K government’s proposal is to exploit 12,40,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of high grade magnesite deposit at Chirpprian Hills and setting up 30,000 TPA Dead Burnt Magnesia Plant at Panthal, near Trikurta Wildlife Sanctuary at Katra District.
“The magnesite mine pit is at Chipran hills near Panthal village and is at a distance of 3km from Trikut Wildlife Sanctuary. The Deat Burnt Magnesite (DBM) plant is 4.5 km from the Sanctuary. The non-forest private land is under the ownership of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board,” the document said.
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