4.5. The land-use planning procedure for mining areas of India
Discussions have been conducted on priorities, objectives and basis of LUPg for MAs in Indian context. The suggested LUPg system for MAs is given in Fig. 4.2. Following is a list of actual steps to be followed and activities to be conducted (in given order) to achieve "land-use planning" in MAs in Indian condition.

i. As soon as it is decided to have mining in an area, form a "group of planners" composed of multidisciplinary technical persons like mining engineers, geologists, civil engineers, ecologists, soil scientists etc., representatives of the society around and the state authorities

ii. Collect site details on geology including lithology and structure, hydrogeology, topography, drainage, LU and societal status of the people living in the project area and its surroundings (i.e. core-zone and buffer-zone).

iii. Involve local people to know their aspirations on, and requirements from the land (at least 4/5 alternatives). Identify the problems and hence objectives based on the above.

iv. Collect further data on climatological and physicochemical conditions of the land and hence prepare land-capability maps for different uses to which the land was suggested to be put at step iii above.

v. Generate alternative suggestions on mining plan and exact sites to be effected by mining directly and indirectly and hence prepare consequence maps and consequence charts for each of the alternatives.

vi. Review the alternatives and their consequences and hence select at least two alternatives one with minimum and the other next to minimum odd consequences.

vii. Assess the cost of implementing the two and select the lower cost one

viii. Considering the alternative selected through stages, the data generated in stage ii & iv, and the views of the local people expressed in stage iii, decide the post-mining (and intermediate) use of the land.

ix. Decide strategies to achieve the selected LU based upon the data generated in stages ii and iv.

x. Implement each of the strategies (decided) in-time.

xi. Distribute the product/benefit(s) of the newly generated LU to the society around.

xii. Analyse the LU condition achieved and go on repeating stages ii to xii again and again as and when required to suit the new conditions.

Thus LUPg is a continuous process. Hence it is expected to received best acceptance and support from the people around. It will be techno-economically feasible also.

This will result planning for using the people's land (i.e. which was owned by the people in pre-mining days and which is expected to go back to the people in post-mining days) done for the people's interest and conducted by (involvement of) the people.