Mineral resources are fundamental to the country’s economy and these are exploited by mining. Why is mining considered an environmental hazard? Explain the remedial measures required to reduce the environmental hazard due to mining.
Approach · directive: “why / explain”
What it asks · Explain the damage mining does to land, water, air, biodiversity and people, and propose remedies across the life of a mine.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Explain why mining is considered an environmental hazard — land, water, air, biodiversity and people
- Explain the remedial measures required across the life of a mine to reduce the hazard
Open with · Minerals underpin energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, but mining strips land cover, rock and water from ecosystems — leaving a large and long-lasting footprint.
Cover
- Land and forests: deforestation, topsoil loss, overburden dumps, subsidence, and fragmented wildlife corridors in central India’s coal and iron-ore belts.
- Water: acid mine drainage, heavy-metal leaching, falling water tables and silted rivers.
- Air and health: dust and particulate pollution, underground coal fires (Jharia), silicosis and pneumoconiosis among workers.
- Social: displacement of tribal communities and loss of forest-based livelihoods, often with poor rehabilitation.
- Illegal and unscientific mining: riverbed sand mining; abandoned mines left unreclaimed.
- Regulatory remedies: EIA with genuine public hearings, forest clearance, mine closure plans backed by financial guarantees, star rating of mines, satellite monitoring.
- Technical and social remedies: backfilling, reclamation and afforestation, dust suppression, treatment of mine water; District Mineral Foundation funds for affected people.
Close with · Mining can be compatible with sustainability when extraction is paired with restoration and with benefit-sharing for those who bear its costs.
Add value (verified)
- District Mineral Foundations had collected over ₹1.02 lakh crore by November 2024 for mining-affected areas under PMKKKY. PIB, Ministry of Mines — District Mineral Foundation (4 February 2025) ↗“Till November 2024, cumulative amount of Rs 1,02,083.03 Cr. has been collected in DMFs across country, out of which Rs 87,357.28 Cr. has been sanctioned for 3.60 lakh projects.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 279 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
Minerals underpin energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, but mining strips land cover, rock and water from ecosystems — leaving a large and long-lasting footprint that outlives the mine itself.
Why mining is an environmental hazard
- Land and forests: deforestation, topsoil loss, overburden dumps, subsidence and fragmented wildlife corridors in central India's coal and iron-ore belts.
- Water: acid mine drainage and heavy-metal leaching poison streams; dewatering lowers water tables; silt chokes rivers.
- Air and health: dust and particulates, underground coal fires as at Jharia, and silicosis and pneumoconiosis among workers.
- Biodiversity: loss of habitat in forested landscapes; noise and blasting drive wildlife out.
- People: displacement of tribal communities and loss of forest-based livelihoods, often with poor rehabilitation.
- Illegal and unscientific mining: riverbed sand mining erodes banks and aquifers; abandoned mines are left unreclaimed.
Remedial measures
- Before mining: rigorous EIA with genuine public hearings, forest and wildlife clearances, cumulative impact assessment for mining clusters, and no-go zones in dense forests.
- During mining: dust suppression, treatment and reuse of mine water, progressive backfilling, blasting controls and worker health surveillance; star rating of mines and satellite monitoring of leases.
- After mining: mine closure plans backed by financial guarantees, reclamation and afforestation of dumps, and conversion of pits into water bodies or eco-parks.
- People: District Mineral Foundation funds — over ₹1.02 lakh crore collected by November 2024 — spent on affected communities under PMKKKY; fair rehabilitation and consent under the Forest Rights Act and PESA.
- Demand side: recycling and a circular economy for metals, and mineral efficiency to cut the need for fresh extraction.
Mining can be compatible with sustainability when extraction is paired with restoration and with benefit-sharing for those who bear its costs.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.