India, Dec. 1 -- The Tamil Nadu government has objected to an office memorandum from the Union environment ministry exempting mining of critical, strategic and atomic minerals from public consultation under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, the ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.

HT had reported on October 1 that after a decision to fast-track environmental and forest clearances for critical minerals, all mining projects of atomic minerals and critical and strategic minerals listed in the first schedule (parts B and D) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act will be exempt from public hearings.

"The ministry had received a letter dated September 12, 2025, wherein the state government o...