Overview
- An office memorandum directs that mining proposals involving atomic, critical and strategic minerals will skip EIA public consultation and face comprehensive appraisal at the Union level.
- The order cites national defence and security considerations and applies regardless of project size.
- The exemption covers minerals listed as atomic (Part B) and critical or strategic (Part D) in the First Schedule of the MMDR Act.
- The Defence Ministry, in an August 4 request, flagged rare earths’ role in radar, sonar, communications and precision weapons and warned of concentrated global supply risk.
- The Department of Atomic Energy, in an August 29 letter, highlighted thorium from monazite and uranium for India’s nuclear programme and sought clearance to operationalise new deposits, aligning with recent Parivesh and forest rule changes to speed approvals.