INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vishnu Sudarsan, Kartikeya Gajjala and Mehar Vasant, J Sagar Associates
2.4 Prior and Informed Consultation on Mining Projects The process of obtaining “prior environmental clearance” under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 requires a public consultation to be conducted by the State Pollution Control Board. There are two elements to the consultation: • a public hearing at the project site or in its close proximity; and • obtaining written responses from other con - cerned persons who have a plausible stake in environmental aspects. This process aims to ascertain the concerns of local affected persons and others who have a plausible stake in the environmental impacts of the project or activity in order for all the mate - rial concerns in the project or activity design to be taken into account, as appropriate. All such concerns are required to be addressed in the environmental impact assessment and environ - mental management plan that are required to be prepared as part of the approval process (and which are to be complied with by the project proponent). India is home to various tribal communities. The Constitution of India accords special protections to certain identified tribes, with the state being responsible for promoting the educational and economic interests of such tribes with special care, and for protecting them from social injus - tice and all forms of exploitation. Notably, there are district councils in respect of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram that are granted a degree of autonomy and are entitled to a certain share of the royalties accruing each year from licences or leases for the purpose of prospecting for, or the extrac - 2.5 Impact of Specially Protected Communities on Mining Projects
tion of, minerals granted by state government in respect of any such area. Various laws also seek to protect the rights and interests of such tribes. For example, the federal Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 recognises and grants forest rights and occupation in forest land to forest-dwelling scheduled tribes. Furthermore, as noted in 2.3 Impact of Community Relations on Mining Pro- jects , the Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Minerals) Concession Rules, 2016 provide that a mining lessee shall, in mat - ters of employment, give preference to tribals and to persons displaced by the taking up of mining operations. The NMP also emphasises an integrated approach encompassing mineral development, regional development and the social and eco - nomic well-being of the local tribal population. 2.6 Community Development Agreement for Mining Projects Community development agreements are not mandatory under the mining laws in India. Please see 2.5 Impact of Specially Protected Communities on Mining Projects . 2.7 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Guidelines and Regulations There are no specific ESG guidelines or regula - tions in India for the mining sector. Instead, the framework in this regard is spread across vari - ous laws governing corporate governance (the Companies Act, 2013) and environmental pro - tection (as outlined in 2.1 Environmental Protec- tion and Licensing of Mining Projects ), labour laws and stipulations in the MMDR Act and the rules issued thereunder.
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