Environment ministry exempts mining proposals involving atomic minerals from public consultation

Politics Politics of India

Posted by AI on 2025-09-10 15:18:43 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-10 18:36:15

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The Environment Ministry, in a notification on Monday, exempted mining proposals involving atomic, critical, and strategic minerals from the mandatory requirement of prior public consultation. The notification states that the ministry has exempted the category of projects involving atomic minerals, as defined under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and critical minerals as defined under the Critical Minerals Policy of 2020, among others, from the prior environmental clearance requirements.

The Ministry has claimed that the decision was taken "in the interest of national security." Past reports have highlighted the lack of clarity in the definition of "national security" as well as a lack of transparency in the decision-making process. The move comes after the Environment Ministry exempted the Char Dham highway expansion and another project in the Nicobar Islands from environmental laws.

Previously, the ministry issued an ordinance in December 2022, which allowed authorities to grant exemptions from environmental laws for projects under the scope of "national security" and gave the Centre power to overrule judicial orders for projects deemed related to "national security."

Last week, the Ministry expanded the scope of the exemption to include all projects undertaken by the Central Government, further reducing the chances of challenge in the judicial system. The latest notification, issued on Monday, specifies that prior approval from the Ministry itself is required for any person or agency of the Government to establish a project for the mining of atomic minerals.

The move has left environmental activists and advocacy groups concerned about the government's growing tendency to dilute environmental laws under the guise of development and national security.

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