Involving Rs. 1340 billion thorium reserves. Irregularities in bureaucratic processes which led to encouragement of illegal mining of thorium
Irregularities in bureaucratic processes which led to encouragement of illegal mining of thorium
Related links:
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/08/10-point-plan-nationalise-thorium.html 10-point plan: Nationalise thorium resources of India and institute strategic command for protecting and conserving Nuclear Fuel complexes
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/08/illegal-thorium-mining-in-india-value.html Illegal thorium mining in India. Value of India’s thorium reserves: Rs. 1340 billion est.
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/08/monday-august-13-2012-must-look-into.html ‘PM must look into illegal thorium mining’
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/07/why-does-sesa-sterlite-want-to-set-up.html Why does Sesa Sterlite want to set up Vedanta Univ. in Orissa? To control Orissa Sand Complex with thorium.
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2011/11/forces-halting-our-n-surge-s-gurumurthy.html Forces halting our n-surge - S. Gurumurthy
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2011/11/foreigners-hold-indian-nuclear-power.html Foreigners hold Indian nuclear power hostage
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2011/07/uranium-is-so-last-century-enter.html Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke | Magazine
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2011/06/upa-sabotagesd-indias-thorium-energy.html UPA sabotages India's thorium energy quest
The most vital mineral resource of thorium has been subject to loot because of the following failures of commission and omission:
1. Since thorium is a nuclear fuel, of strategic importance for India’s nuclear programme (for both nuclear-tipped missiles and nuclear energy generation) Licences for extraction of minerals (which contained thorium) should NOT have been granted under the Mines and Minerals [Development and Regulation] Act, 1957 for clearly identified areas in the Geological Survey of India Maps of the nation’s mineral resources showing thorium-containing complexes (including ilmenite, monazite, rutile, Orissa Sand Complex etc.) with varying percentages of thorium element content.
2. Licences have been granted without proper application of mind by authorities entrusted with the responsibility. For instance, allowing thousands of tones of minerals to be extracted within a small area of land, say, 1 acre or 1 hectre (a theoretical impossibility) unless deep mining upto 100 kms. Depths into the ground can be demonstrated.
3. Licences for transport and storage have been granted for large tonnage of minerals, disproportionate to the mineral yielding capacity of the area of land held in lease or ownership.
4. Vast areas of purambok (government) land have been leased at throw-away prices upto tens of hectares without any regard to avoiding monopoly trade practices and allowing such leases to be used as a cover to export illegally mined minerals from unlicensed areas.
5. False declarations (calling the exports coir ropes or wheat germs) for trading in minerals including exports to foreign agencies (e.g. through South Korea to PRC destinations).
6. Govt. of India orders including ilmenite and monazite as permitted categories for privatized mine leases and extraction by private parties without adequate controls to ensure that thorium included in such mineral extractions are deposited with Atomic Energy Commission.
7. Limited area of land allocated to Indian Rare Earths Limited to conserving and extraction of thorium-rich minerals from placer deposits of Aluva, Chavara, Manavalakuricchi, while allowing large areas of land to be exploited by private parties.
8. In violation of the Monopolies Trade Practices regulations, which are meant to prevent creation of monopolies, encouragement by Govt. agencies to favoured individuals or companies creating virtual monopolies in exploitation of critical mineral resources like ilmenite and monazite. No procedures ensuring transparency such as auctioning such resources were put in place in the absence of a Mines Regulatory Authority under the Mines and Minerals [Development and Regulation] Act, 1957. This is a lesson which should be learnt from the 2G scam and the Coalgate scams of indiscriminate allocation of valuable assets in what is referred to as promotion of crony capitalism.
9. Officials in the pay of private parties participating in and promoting illegal mining activities by a few select companies and individuals without pursuing vigilance cases against corrupt officials at all levels both in the State and Central Governments.
10. Practices of intimidation adopted by a few individuals and firms to harass small private mining companies in the area with thorium-containing mineral complexes (including garnet, zircon etc. complexes) by intimidation, false and fabricated court cases.
11. Documented instances of threats and inducements to officials by some private parties documented in official meetings such as those convened by Indian Bureau of Mines or meetings with Federations promoting interests of miners.
12. Creating an intolerable situation where the law and order machinery has virtually broken down with a few individuals running a private regime, a parallel government in selected areas with thorium-containing mineral resources and assets. Most of such areas are made inaccessible to even scientists and researchers.
13. The solution to a problem which has reached gigantic proportions of loot of the most valuable thorium reserves which are estimated to be about Rs. 1340 billion) has to be IMMEDIATE and DECISIVE: 1. Nationalise all thorium-containing resources held by private invidivuals/companies; 2. to prevent further loot, hand over the areas containing thorium-containing reserves to the control of a Separate Nuclear Fuels Command of the Joint Command of Army,Navy and Air Force as an integral part of the nation’s Nuclear Forces Command; and 3. to institute monitoring mechanisms for end-use of thorium for dual uses: one for thorium-blanked fast breeder reactors and second for development/deployment of plutonium based nuclear weapons under the Nuclear Doctrine of the Nation.
14. Indian Parliament should amend the Mines and Minerals [Development and Regulation] Act, 1957 to exlude thorium-containing mineral complexes from the application of the Act and declare such complexes as National Assets under the Central List of Part XI of Indian Constitution.
15. Failure of Environmental Protection Agencies in continuous and effective monitoring the fragile coastal zones which are the depositories of the placer minerals such as the minerals containing thorium.
Related links:
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/08/10-point-plan-nationalise-thorium.html 10-point plan: Nationalise thorium resources of India and institute strategic command for protecting and conserving Nuclear Fuel complexes
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/08/illegal-thorium-mining-in-india-value.html Illegal thorium mining in India. Value of India’s thorium reserves: Rs. 1340 billion est.
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/08/monday-august-13-2012-must-look-into.html ‘PM must look into illegal thorium mining’
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/07/why-does-sesa-sterlite-want-to-set-up.html Why does Sesa Sterlite want to set up Vedanta Univ. in Orissa? To control Orissa Sand Complex with thorium.
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2011/11/forces-halting-our-n-surge-s-gurumurthy.html Forces halting our n-surge - S. Gurumurthy
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2011/11/foreigners-hold-indian-nuclear-power.html Foreigners hold Indian nuclear power hostage
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2011/07/uranium-is-so-last-century-enter.html Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke | Magazine
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2011/06/upa-sabotagesd-indias-thorium-energy.html UPA sabotages India's thorium energy quest
The most vital mineral resource of thorium has been subject to loot because of the following failures of commission and omission:
1. Since thorium is a nuclear fuel, of strategic importance for India’s nuclear programme (for both nuclear-tipped missiles and nuclear energy generation) Licences for extraction of minerals (which contained thorium) should NOT have been granted under the Mines and Minerals [Development and Regulation] Act, 1957 for clearly identified areas in the Geological Survey of India Maps of the nation’s mineral resources showing thorium-containing complexes (including ilmenite, monazite, rutile, Orissa Sand Complex etc.) with varying percentages of thorium element content.
2. Licences have been granted without proper application of mind by authorities entrusted with the responsibility. For instance, allowing thousands of tones of minerals to be extracted within a small area of land, say, 1 acre or 1 hectre (a theoretical impossibility) unless deep mining upto 100 kms. Depths into the ground can be demonstrated.
3. Licences for transport and storage have been granted for large tonnage of minerals, disproportionate to the mineral yielding capacity of the area of land held in lease or ownership.
4. Vast areas of purambok (government) land have been leased at throw-away prices upto tens of hectares without any regard to avoiding monopoly trade practices and allowing such leases to be used as a cover to export illegally mined minerals from unlicensed areas.
5. False declarations (calling the exports coir ropes or wheat germs) for trading in minerals including exports to foreign agencies (e.g. through South Korea to PRC destinations).
6. Govt. of India orders including ilmenite and monazite as permitted categories for privatized mine leases and extraction by private parties without adequate controls to ensure that thorium included in such mineral extractions are deposited with Atomic Energy Commission.
7. Limited area of land allocated to Indian Rare Earths Limited to conserving and extraction of thorium-rich minerals from placer deposits of Aluva, Chavara, Manavalakuricchi, while allowing large areas of land to be exploited by private parties.
8. In violation of the Monopolies Trade Practices regulations, which are meant to prevent creation of monopolies, encouragement by Govt. agencies to favoured individuals or companies creating virtual monopolies in exploitation of critical mineral resources like ilmenite and monazite. No procedures ensuring transparency such as auctioning such resources were put in place in the absence of a Mines Regulatory Authority under the Mines and Minerals [Development and Regulation] Act, 1957. This is a lesson which should be learnt from the 2G scam and the Coalgate scams of indiscriminate allocation of valuable assets in what is referred to as promotion of crony capitalism.
9. Officials in the pay of private parties participating in and promoting illegal mining activities by a few select companies and individuals without pursuing vigilance cases against corrupt officials at all levels both in the State and Central Governments.
10. Practices of intimidation adopted by a few individuals and firms to harass small private mining companies in the area with thorium-containing mineral complexes (including garnet, zircon etc. complexes) by intimidation, false and fabricated court cases.
11. Documented instances of threats and inducements to officials by some private parties documented in official meetings such as those convened by Indian Bureau of Mines or meetings with Federations promoting interests of miners.
12. Creating an intolerable situation where the law and order machinery has virtually broken down with a few individuals running a private regime, a parallel government in selected areas with thorium-containing mineral resources and assets. Most of such areas are made inaccessible to even scientists and researchers.
13. The solution to a problem which has reached gigantic proportions of loot of the most valuable thorium reserves which are estimated to be about Rs. 1340 billion) has to be IMMEDIATE and DECISIVE: 1. Nationalise all thorium-containing resources held by private invidivuals/companies; 2. to prevent further loot, hand over the areas containing thorium-containing reserves to the control of a Separate Nuclear Fuels Command of the Joint Command of Army,Navy and Air Force as an integral part of the nation’s Nuclear Forces Command; and 3. to institute monitoring mechanisms for end-use of thorium for dual uses: one for thorium-blanked fast breeder reactors and second for development/deployment of plutonium based nuclear weapons under the Nuclear Doctrine of the Nation.
14. Indian Parliament should amend the Mines and Minerals [Development and Regulation] Act, 1957 to exlude thorium-containing mineral complexes from the application of the Act and declare such complexes as National Assets under the Central List of Part XI of Indian Constitution.
15. Failure of Environmental Protection Agencies in continuous and effective monitoring the fragile coastal zones which are the depositories of the placer minerals such as the minerals containing thorium.
No comments:
Post a Comment