Saranda Mining Ban

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change constituted a committee to reassess the ban imposed on mining in the Saranda region of Jharkhand.

Saranda Forests

The Saranda Forest is the largest Sal forest in Asia. It extends across the hilly region of Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. The Rivers Koina and Karo pass through these forests. Though Sal is a deciduous tree (sheds its leaves seasonally), its undergrowth is generally green throughout the year. The Ho tribe, considered as ST by the government, live in this region.

Iron Ore in Saranda

The Saranda region contains large reserves of iron ore- nearly 28% of the hematite iron ore of the country is in this region. However, the region was once a part of left-wing extremism afflicted zone. Also it is a key elephant habitat.

Management Plan for Sustainable Mining

The 2014 MB Shah Commission found evidences for illegal mining in the Saranda region. This led to call for formulating a plan for sustainable mining. The MPSM was constituted because of this. The recently set up committee, by the MoEFCC, is to look into the regulatory provisions in this MPSM for Saranda and Chaibasa regions of Jharkhand.