India, Oct. 1 -- After a decision to fast-track environmental and forest clearance processes for critical minerals, all mining projects of atomic minerals and critical and strategic minerals notified in the first schedule (part B and D) of Mines and Minerals Act will be exempt from public hearings, the Union environment ministry has said. All of these projects, irrespective of the lease area, will be appraised at the central level, the ministry added. Some reserves are located in border areas where communities are concerned about the impact on the ecology of the region. P12...