Concerned over damage to environment due to rampant mining of minor minerals like sand and marble, a government task force favours bringing them under a strict regulatory regime.

If the suggestions are implemented in toto, companies would have to follow strict mining norms to extract boulder, shingle, brick-earth, fuller's earth, marble, stone used for making utensils, ordinary earth, road metal and limestone which have been identified as minor minerals.

The task force, set up by the environment ministry last year, has stressed on the need to re-look at the definition of "minor" minerals by the mining ministry along with the bureau of mines in consultation with the state governments.

"The minerals should be classified into major and minor categories on the basis of their economic value instead of end-usage," says the report which was submitted to the environment ministry recently.

It substantiated its view by pointing out that in some minor minerals like silica sand and limestone the scale of mechanisation and production level was much higher than those of industrial mineral mines.

The 16-member group headed by the environment secretary has suggested a uniform area size of five hectares and five- year period to be granted for mine lease to ensure adoption of eco-friendly scientific mining practices.

"It is also recommended that provision for preparation and approval of mine plan, as in the case of major minerals may be provided in the rules governing the mining of minor minerals by the respective state governments.

"These should specifically include the provision for reclamation and rehabilitation of mined out area, progressive mine closure plan and post mine land use," the task force has said suggesting setting up of a separate corpus for the purpose.

In view of environmental damage being caused by unregulated river-bed mining of sand, buzari and boulders, the committee has advocated the need for identifying specific river stretches for the purpose so as to ensure requisite safeguard measures.