Mining & Environment in India / edited by S.C. Joshi and G.Bhattacharya

It is a paradox that man, while unable to replenish the natural resources and ser vices, upon which rest the very foundations of his existence, has now become a disrup tive force-great enough to undermine them. While there may be insufficient evi dence to prove conclusively that disaster is really upon us, but it certainly indicates that humanity today is playing in a league where environmental balances on various scales largely hinge on human actions.

Mining is one such devastating activity that not only disrupts the natural ecosys tem in a significant way but is also respons ible for a variety of socio-economic maladies. In India, there has been a real spurt in the mining activity only after the Independence and as such, environmental Concerns are yet to be integrated into the development of natural resources. As a consequence mining has given rise to a variety of environmental problems.

The present collection of papers is an attempt to provide a thorough and upto date understanding of the devastation caused by mining operations in India-also discussing at length, the possible strategies for dealing with the problem in a really effective manner. The contributions contain the latest thinking on the issues and topics that the learned authors have preferred to deal with and the significant details about mining and its impact on the environment at a varied scale provide a full entree to the many cracial environmental questions that the proce of mineral exploitation-both in existing d proposed areas-now faces in the country. In format and emphasis, it is perhaps the first attempt of its kind.