1.1 Perspective of the study
The earth bears a history of more than 4500 million years while human beings started
living on it around one million years ago (Leaky, 1960). However they were living
mainly on plants. Gradually they started making weapons out of stones and killing
animals. The creation of nature started getting disturbed. The disturbances were
not that serious till people were living only on natural products like fruits,
animals etc. Moreover the number of human beings were less and the amount of damage
created was not that serious. The activities were within the limits of "food-chain"
and "prey-predecessor" relation.
About 10,000 years ago men started having reign over the nature, by learning agriculture
(Lull, 1976) as they started disturbing land by ploughing, and also by making
land surface barren by cutting greeneries. Land particles released from the exposed
and loosened land surface were getting carried by wind and water, and joined the
particles formed by weathering and erosion by natural processes which were sculpturing
the earth's surface. Thus the outer surface of the earth started to get altered
by human activities together with natural agents.
The amount of human interference with nature and hence alteration of nature is
going on increasing since then by a multiplied effect of two factors.
* Increase in human population i.e. the number of interferers.
* Development of science and technology, i.e. the nature and extent of interference.
Gradually the LC i.e. the green cover on earth made by the nature started to get
disturbed and Man started using the land as per his own desire i.e. LU. The twentyeth
century arrived at a situation when the major part of the earth's surface i.e.
land was having much of LU and very less of LC.
The total system, which the men of 20th century referred as environment is a combination
of four components, the lithosphere (the land, i.e. the solid cover of the earth),
the biosphere (living beings i.e. plants and animals on and in the lithosphere),
the hydrosphere (water on and in the earth), and the atmosphere, enveloping the
three other systems. At the time of formation nature had put these four spheres
in juxtaposition in a very balanced manner. It is just like a simple two-pan balance,
so that any disturbance in one will create an equal and opposite reaction in other
i.e. following the standard law, that `every action has an equal and opposite
reaction'. If "we" human beings alter this system the "equal and opposite reaction"
may work upon "us" and this may not be very platable to "us". Knowing or unknowing
this the realisation had come very late when "we", "men" have started thinking
about environmental protection. Official record of that was in 1972 (The stockholm
conference).
Realisation about need of not disturbing forest cover came in India much earlier.
The official record of that is the National Forest Policy of 1894. Also India
has a long-old history of worshiping some specific plant species. Inspite of several
other efforts like National Forest Policy 1952, Forest (Conservation) act 1980,
National Forest Policy 1988 and several other efforts to conserve forests, forest
cover over the globe is going on decreasing. An observation for the purpose of
global land assessment of degradation by GLASOD, (Anon 2000 pp.3) has indicated
that the globe has lost 22% of its green cover (cropland, pasture, forest, wood
land) in last half century.
In the above background an attempt was made to find out the basic cause(s) of
the standing problem of decreasing green cover. Not withstanding the fact that
"mining areas" cover only about 0.04% of the country's geographical area, it was
realised that impact of mining on land and LU spreads upto many times the area
actually disturbed by mining (Sharma, 1982). i.e. the "mining area". It was realised
that the area under this snow balling effect escapes human care for greening.
Further, though greening is attempted over mining degraded lands, there are plenty
of cases where this cannot be implemented properly. These only give an indication
about the fact that mining may have some (even if very less) role in the problem.
1.2 Land use management in India
1.2.1 Original concept
A benevolent approach to combat the above problem was made by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MoEF), GoI in 1986 by making it mandatory that every
new mining project and expansion project should submit an EMP and can start the
project only when the EMP gets approved by the MoEF. A very important chapter
as per the suggested EMP format is the chapter on LUMP.
These LUMPs were being prepared by the experts working in the line through consultation
of geological maps, hydrogeological maps, LU maps and mining plan of the area.
It was being presented in front of an expert committee at MoEF, was being altered
if required so through discussions and was being approved if found proper.
Inspite of all such efforts, the LUP of the country could not show much discernible
improvement. This is proved by facts which may be summarised as
* in many of mining areas the desired LUP could not be developed either due to
objection from some sector, or shortage of fund or some technical problem
* even in some cases mining could not be conducted because of resistance from
the people around
* the country is heading towards desertification (Mohanty, 2001)
hence arise the question, "where is the Lacuna"?
The fact that remained standing, too prominent to be overlooked is, even by an
effort through 107 years (1894--2001) the decreasing trend of green cover could
not be prevented.
Scientific observations in order to abate the three sets of problems cited above
could find out two basic clues.
* Implementation of any LUMP depends upon its acceptance by the people around.
If the people around the project somehow realises that the activities will be
good for them, they will not only allow, but will also help in all possible ways,
implementation of the project. Otherwise chances remain of its getting objected
by the same society around.
* Successful implementation of any LUMP depends to a major extent on the land's
capability to support the very LU suggested by the LUMP. The land's capability
to support any LU depends upon certain natural factors e.g. rock type, soil type
and thickness, slope, water (availability and quality) temperature, rainfall (quantity
and distribution through year) topography, existing vegetation succession etc.
which was being only limitedly studied in the LUMP being prepared till now.
*Improper LU makes a land derelict and pushes it towards desertification.