Madhav AgarwalAIR 16 · CSE 2024 · 226 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening
Recently Lithium Reserves were found in REASI district of Jammu & Kashmir whose exact extraction is yet to be explored. These mineral wealth can be both boon and bane for a region and need to be seen in integration.
MINERAL WEALTH'S SIGNIFICANCE
(A) ECONOMIC:
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(1) Boost to employment, development of the region (2) Primary Industrial growth can boost raw material supply for secondary sector (3) Boosts to Investment in the region
(B) STRATEGIC : (1) Reduce dependence on imports and players like China, Argentina. (2) Boost to Green Energy development of batteries needed for solar energy. (3) Overall thrust to Industry Revolution 4.0.
Yet it has SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS too :-
(A) Ecological Impacts : (i) Affect the fragility of Himalayas leading to loss of biodiversity. (ii) Pollution : air pollution release of GHG (CO, NOx), water contamination in extraction, soil acidification.
(B) Social Impacts : (i) Increase vulnerability of the people to disasters (landslides due to explosives). (ii) Health concerns of people (lung problems). (iii) "Resource Curse" = Other sectors may go on a "back seat" due to over focus on resource extraction leading to inequality.
Way ahead:
- Proper Environmental Impact Assessment procedure
- Sustainable mining techniques through global best practices.
- Balanced growth for all sectors, people.
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We need to learn from the idea of Sunderlal Bahuguna who said "ENVIRONMENT is the PERMANENT ECONOMY".