NGT appointed committee holds Kochi Corporation responsible
- March 14, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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NGT appointed committee holds Kochi Corporation responsible
Subject : Environment
Section: Pollution
Concept :
- The State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) on Solid Waste Management appointed by the National Green Tribunal has held the Kochi Corporation responsible for all the fire incidents at the Brahmapuram dump site.
- SLMC report highlights various defects in the dump site, which can lead to more accidents in the future also.
- There was no progress in the process of bio mining undertaken by an independent service provider.
- Also, it remains doubtful whether they had set up adequate fire fighting mechanism at the yard.
What is Biomining?
- Biomining is mineral processing with microbes.
- Biomining is the process of using microorganisms (microbes) to extract metals of economic interest from rock ores or mine waste.
- Biomining techniques may also be used to clean up sites that have been polluted with metals.
- Valuable metals are commonly bound up in solid minerals. Some microbes can oxidize those metals, allowing them to dissolve in water. This is the basic process behind most biomining, which is used for metals that can be more easily recovered when dissolved than from the solid rocks.
- A different biomining technique, for metals which are not dissolved by the microbes, uses microbes to break down the surrounding minerals, making it easier to recover the metal of interest directly from the remaining rock.
What metals are currently bio-mined?
- Most current biomining operations target valuable metals like copper, uranium, nickel, and gold that are commonly found in sulfidic (sulphur-bearing)
- Microbes are especially good at oxidizing sulfidic minerals, converting metals like iron and copper into forms that can dissolve more easily.
- Other metals, like gold, are not directly dissolved by this microbial process, but are made more accessible to traditional mining techniques because the minerals surrounding these metals are dissolved and removed by microbial processes.
- When the metal of interest is directly dissolved, the biomining process is called “bioleaching,” and when the metal of interest is made more accessible or “enriched” in the material left behind, it is called “bio oxidation.”
What processes are used to bio-mine?
- Heap leaching: freshly mined material is moved directly into heaps that are then bioleached.
- Dump leaching: low-value ore or waste rock is placed in a sealed pit and then bioleached to remove more of the valuable metals from the waste pile.
- Agitated leaching: crushed rocks are placed into a large vat that is shaken to distribute the microbes and material evenly and speed up the bioleaching process.
- Leaching times vary from days to months, making this process slower than conventional mineral extraction techniques.
- Dump and heap leaching are the oldest and most established biomining techniques, but the use of agitated leaching is becoming more common for minerals that are resistant to leaching, including some copper sulfides like chalcopyrite.
What are the environmental risks of biomining?
- the release of the microbes themselves into the local environment are considered to be relatively small.
- The greatest environmental risks are related to leakage and treatment of the acidic, metal-rich solution created by the microbes.
- This risk can be managed by ensuring that biomining is conducted under controlled conditions with proper sealing and waste management protocols.
How common is biomining?
- Biomining is currently a small part of the overall mining industry.
- worldwide, 10-15% of copper is extracted using bioleaching.
- Biomining is also important in the gold industry, where roughly 5% of global gold is produced using bio oxidation.
Difference between Bio-capping and Biomining:
About National Green Tribunal
- It is a specialised body set up under the National Green Tribunal Act (2010) for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
- With the establishment of the NGT, India became the third country in the world to set up a specialised environmental tribunal, only after Australia and New Zealand, and the first developing country to do so.
- NGT is mandated to make disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the same.
- The NGT has five places of sittings, New Delhi is the principal place of sitting and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai are the other four.
Structure of NGT
- The Tribunal comprises of the Chairperson, the Judicial Members and Expert Members. They shall hold office for term of five years and are not eligible for reappointment.
- The Chairperson is appointed by the Central Government in consultation with Chief Justice of India (CJI). A selection committee would be formed for this purpose.
Powers & Jurisdiction
- The Tribunal has jurisdiction over all civil cases involving substantial question relating to environment (including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment).
- Being a statutory adjudicatory body like Courts, apart from original jurisdiction side on filing of an application, NGT also has appellate jurisdiction to hear appeal as a Court (Tribunal).
- The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, but shall be guided by principles of ‘natural justice’.
- While passing any order/decision/ award, it shall apply the principles of sustainable development, the precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle.
- An order/decision/award of Tribunal is executable as a decree of a civil court.
- The NGT Act also provides a procedure for a penalty for non compliance.
- An appeal against order/decision/ award of the NGT lies to the Supreme Court, generally within ninety days from the date of communication.
- The NGT deals with civil cases under the seven laws related to the environment, these include:
- The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974,
- The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977,
- The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980,
- The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981,
- The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986,
- The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 and
- The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
- Any violation pertaining to these laws or any decision taken by the Government under these laws can be challenged before the NGT.