As the debate around the new farm laws rages on, the Indian government has gone ahead and cleared changes in the country's mining laws, to push mineral extraction and production. Like farming, mining is another sector where the mining reforms, meant to boost the economy, are going to have large-scale consequences.

The changes, according to the government, will have a positive impact on the sector and economy, but experts working with the mining-affected communities note that they could have a domino effect, with a negative impact on communities, human health, water bodies, environment, or wildlife.

The experts point out that the government, in fact, needs to look at displacement and rehabilitation issues and give attention to the transition of communities and their livelihoods in areas where mines will exhaust in another two or three decades.

The mining reforms proposed in August 2020 aimed at increasing participation of the private sector in mineral exploration, clearly defining illegal mining, removing the distinction between captive and non-captive mines, resolving legal issues, moving towards an auction-only regime, developing a national mineral index and creating tangible assets using the district mineral fund.

In May 2020, while the central government was announcing a Rs 20 trillion package to kickstart the stalling economy, mining reforms were a big item on the agenda. It was also emphasized during the budget of 2020.

The move, however, was criticized by the mining-affected communities with experts stating that it comes in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic while people are battling for survival. They had also noted that such far-reaching changes – propagated only in the English language and only online – need to be widely accessed and debated instead of just giving a few weeks to people to send suggestions. The government had received a large number of comments and suggestions on the proposed reforms in response to the public consultation notice.

Earlier this month, sources confirmed that the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared changes in the mining norms to give a push to the sluggish economy. The view that the uptick in mining activities and mining reforms will give a significant push to the slowing economy, including providing jobs, has been highlighted by many in the central government and industry, stating that it will help in taking the Indian economy to the ‘five trillion-dollar mark’ within the next few years.