BENGALURU | Feb 04, 2016: To regulate the environmental and social impact of mining, Union secretary for Ministry of Mines Balwinder Kumar on Wednesday rolled out a sustainable development framework for the major mining sectors. “Mining in India has always been a big industry. But it has hogged the limelight for all the wrong reasons,” he said.

“However, we are introducing a sustainable development framework, under which each mine will be rated for its impact on the environment and society, . Currently, it is only for major mining sectors like iron, gold and manganese ores,” he added.

The National Mineral Development Corporation’s, Donimalai Iron mine in Karnataka has been selected as an ideal mine to rate the sustainable development plan of the ministry of mines.

A grading system will be put up in place, according to which all the major mines in the country will be scrutinized and awarded star ratings based on its sustainability and contribution towards safeguarding the environment around the mining area. He also said the respective state governments should seriously think about tightening the noose around granite mines to reduce the damage

(Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/)