PlanCom for 'sensible' definition of no-go areas

Planning Commission today said there should be a “sensible” definition of no-go areas, where mining activities were prohibited on environmental concerns.

No-go areas did not need to be excluded from mining activities for ever, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.

“If we get a sensible definition of what is no-go... something that is called no-go for now does not have to be no-go for ever. But the main point is that they should be flexible,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Conclave.

The environment ministry has divided mineral-bearing regions into go and no-go areas. According to the guidelines, mining is allowed only in the go areas.

“The criteria that we use to establish what is no-go should be very carefully defined and should be based on some scientific considerations,” Ahluwalia added.

He said he had discussed the issue with Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and “he (Ramesh) is quite willing to be flexible in what the criteria should be”.

The coal ministry recently sought Cabinet approval for its proposal that mining be allowed in 90 per cent of coal blocks, labelled as no-mining areas by the environment ministry.

There are 206 coal blocks spread across 4,039 sq km in nine coalfields, involving a production potential of 660 million tonnes, which have been designated as no-go areas.