Introduction
Mineral mining provides the raw materials for making electricity, steel, cement, and building roads and houses. It contributes about 2% of gross value addition to the economy. But deposits near eco‑sensitive areas risk subsidence, pollution, erosion, and habitat loss without strong safeguards and siting controls.

Body

Mining as an Environmental Hazard

• Land subsidence: Unregulated mining weakens slopes, causing ground sinking, soil loss, and structural damage near sites.
  • Eg: Soapstone mining in Bageshwar, Uttarakhand triggered subsidence risk and erosion.
• River erosion: Excess sand and gravel removal destabilizes riverbeds, erodes banks, and harms fish and flood resilience.
• Toxic drainage: Acid mine drainage pollutes streams with heavy metals, degrading ecosystems and drinking sources downstream.
  • Eg: Malanjkhand copper area showed acidic runoff contaminating water and sediments.
• Dust and air: Blasting, hauling, and dumps add fine particles, worsening local air and respiratory health near mines.
• Habitat loss: Clearing forests and buffers for pits fragments green cover and pressures biodiversity when safeguards are weak.
• Community risks: Poor controls cause water scarcity, noise, accidents, and conflict with nearby settlements and workers.

A clear link exists between problems and solutions. Hazards reveal controlling gaps but now lets discuss remedies to overcome them in the following manner.

Remedial Measures for Environmental Hazard Reduction

• Sustainability ratings: Star Rating promotes scientific mining, closure plans, and social safeguards to raise baseline performance.
• DMF welfare: District Mineral Foundation funds water, health, pollution control, and livelihoods in affected areas.
• Planned closure: Scientific closure restores landforms, waterflows, and enables reuse like eco‑parks or solar plants.
  • Eg: Coal ministry promotes repurposing closed mines for community assets.
• Curb sand crime: Enforce laws, use tech monitoring, and shift to manufactured sand to protect rivers.
  • Eg: Policies promote M‑sand (manufactured sand) and tighter checks on extraction.
• Green buffers: Create green belts, retaining walls, and slope sensors to stabilize ground and cut dust.
• Public oversight: Share mine performance data and involve communities in plans to reduce conflict and improve compliance.
• Green Rehabilitation Measures: Afforestation and ecological restoration of mined lands.
  • Eg: Neyveli Lignite Corporation’s post-mining afforestation model.
• Advanced Pollution Management: Adopting dust suppression systems and real-time pollution monitoring.

Conclusion
Mining must balance economic needs with ecological stewardship to ensure intergenerational equity. Adopting green mining technologies and stricter monitoring can turn mining into a sustainable driver of growth.

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