Ranking Assam among the top three states in category B under the State Mining Readiness Index and State Rankings released by the Ministry of Mines on Thursday indicates the readiness of the state for increasing mineral production in a big way. This also makes the state eligible to receive an incentive of Rs 100 crore under the central scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI), 2025-26. The ecological fragility of the areas where reserves of mineral resources like limestone and rare earth elements have been found demands a strong commitment to nature conservation to ensure that mining operations remain environmentally sustainable. Assam has already auctioned five limestone blocks in the Dima Hasao district, which helped it fulfil one of the four reforms in the mineral sector to apply for incentives amounting to Rs.100 Crore under the Scheme. The department has targeted to operationalise two of these auctioned limestone blocks by December 31. The Report on States’ Best Practices in Mining January 2025 highlights that a 1% increase in the mining sector results in approximately a 1.3% rise in industrial production and a 0.3% boost in India’s GDP. Although India’s mining sector contributes less than 2.5% to its GDP, it remains a vital component of the economy, comparable to countries like Russia, Chile, China, Indonesia and Australia, where mining and quarrying contribute 7-10% to their GDP, the report states, which explains the rationale behind the push by the central government for increasing mineral production. India spends only 1% of the global budget for mining exploration, according to a “Note on introducing exploration licence for deep-seated minerals and critical minerals” circulated by the Ministry of Mines vide Notice for Public Consultation in 2023. The central government holds the view that mining sector reforms are crucial for increasing mineral production, and the state governments have an important role to play in the development of the country’s mining sector and carrying out these reforms. One of the objectives of SASCI is to facilitate an increase in mineral production, an increase in revenue collection by states from mining and incentivise reforms. Each state ranked in the top three in each category in the State Mining Readiness Index is eligible to get an incentive of Rs 100 crore. The index comprises indicators like auction performance, early mine operationalisation, thrust on exploration and sustainable mining pertaining to non-coal minerals. The Handbookon Geological Potential of NortheastIndia published by the Geological Survey of India brought to light that the Dima Hasao district alone has a proven reserve of 1490 million tonnes of limestone. The GSI has also found iron ore deposits with an estimated resource of 18.29 million tonnes in the Chandardinga area in the Dhubri district, glass sand with high silica content in the Nagaon and Karbi Anglong districts, and placer gold in the Subansiri River basin. While these mineral deposits indicate the potential economic benefit to the state when this potential is tapped, the fact that these mineral deposits are located in hilly terrain and river basins also raises concern over potential irreversible damage to the ecology if mineral extraction is carried out without adequate safeguards. Strengthening the monitoring mechanism is crucial to ensure compliance. As the lives of indigenous communities living in these areas are dependent on the ecological integrity of the hill terrains in the two hill districts, mineral extraction adequately benefitting them and fairly compensating them for any displacement or loss of livelihood is pivotal to the sustainability and legitimacy of the mining operations. Transparency of the mineral extraction plan and wider public consultation can boost the confidence of the people about the effectiveness of the environmental safeguards and promised economic benefit and fair compensation for loss of livelihood and displacement. The high susceptibility of the hilly terrains to landslides calls for taking the highest precaution and disaster risk mitigation to prevent disaster and protectmining workers at the mining sites. The entire Northeast region being located in the highest earthquake risk category of Seismic Zone V, disaster risk mitigation at the mining sites needs to be comprehensive so that seismic resilience is integrated at every stage, right from planning to actual extraction, as earthquakes may compound natural and industrial disasters. The extraction of limestone from the auctioned blocks is expected to significantly increase cement production and availability, but cement companies passing on the benefits to the end consumers within the state is essential to translate the economic aspiration from a mineral extraction-driven economy into tangible gains for the state and the people. The readiness of the state in increasing mineral production in the state cannot be measured solely by reforms aimed at ease of doing business by mining companies. The capacity of the state to balance economic aspirations through mineral extraction with ecological conservation and disaster risk mitigation also stands as a critical parameter for assessing the actual sustainability of its mining strategy.