ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE : NATURAL RESOURCES 55
(4) Preference to members of the scheduled tribes for development of small deposits in
scheduled areasm
(5) Protection of forests, environment and ecology from the adverse effects of mining,
(6) Enforcement of mining plan for adoption of proper mining methods.
(7) Optimum utilizations of minerals, export of minerals in value added form and
recycling of metallic scrap and mineral waste.
Under the constitution, mineral rights and administration of Mining Laws are vested
in State Governments. The Central Government, however, regulated development of minerals
under the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 and the rules and
regulations framed under it. The statute empowers the Centre to formulate rules for the
following:
(i) The grant of prospective licences and mining leases;
(ii) The conservation and development of minerals;
(iii) The modification of old leases.
The Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957, was amended in
1972 and major amendments were made in February 1987. The Mineral Concession Rules,
1960, 1958 was replaced by more comprehensive rules in 1988.
MINERALS RESOURCES
Principle minerals found in the country, along with their estimated reserves, are given
below:
(1) Bauxite
Recoverable reserves of all grades of bauxite in the country are estimated at 283.3
crore tonnes. Important deposits occur in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Gujrat, Jammu and
Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh.
(2) Barytes
The recoverable reserves of barytes are placed at 7.1 crore tonnes. Most of the reserves
are located at Mangampet Taluka in Cuddapah District, Andhra Pradesh. Other minor
occurrences are reported from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, West
Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
(3) Coal and Lignite
Coal is India’s largest mineral resource and presently India is fifth largest of coal in the
world. Vast deposits of coal of Gondwana formations occur in West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. It also occurs in tertiary formations
in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland. Total reserves
of coal are estimated at 17,046 crore tonnes comprosing 16,499 crore tonnes of non-coking
coal and 547 crore tonnes of prime cocking. As compare with India’s coal reserves lignite
resources are relatively modest at 438.8 crore tonnes of which the bulk of the reserves are
located in and around Neyyeli in Tamil Nadu. Significant lignite resources are in Rajasthan,
Gujrat and Jammu and Kashmir.