New Delhi, June 6 (PTI) Concerned over the environment impact of rampant mining of minor minerals such as sand and fuller earth, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has asked the states to amend rules for such activities in line with the guidelines framed by his ministry.
In letters written to all chief ministers, Ramesh said "as there is no uniform framework to regulate the mining of minor minerals, my ministry has evolved a set of guidelines for their sustainable mining."
He said the guidelines were formulated on the basis of recommendations of a group constituted under the environment secretary last year as mining of minor minerals has been increasing over the years and was starting to have a significant adverse impact on our ecology.