Offshore blocks in the seas around India, made available to private companies for mining, were carved out after excluding regions known to be Marine Protected Areas, the Earth Sciences Ministry said in response to a query in the Lok Sabha by Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday (December 10, 2025).
Earlier this year, protests had erupted in Kerala — cutting across party lines — over the Centre’s proposal, last November, to auction 13 blocks in the sea, allowing private companies to mine for construction-grade sand off the coast of Kerala, three blocks of lime mud off the coast of Gujarat, and seven blocks of polymetallic nodules and crust off the Great Nicobar Island in the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The protests, however, were concentrated in Kerala where fishermen communities protested that such mining would destroy marine life and deplete fish stocks. The Kerala Assembly, this March, passed a resolution opposing the Centre’s auctioning of the block.
the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and former MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi, had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revoke the auction announcement. So far, no companies have been selected from the auctioning.
The Environment Ministry had notified 130 Marine Protected Areas across the coastal States, and islands, and 106 coastal and marine sites have been identified and prioritised as Important Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Areas (ICMBAs) to take care of marine species conservation, Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences, said in a statement.
“The offshore blocks have been carved by excluding these areas. Furthermore, as per the provisions of the Offshore Areas Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2024, no production operations shall be undertaken except in accordance with a production plan. The production plan, inter alia, includes an environmental management plan indicating baseline information, impact assessment, and mitigation measures.”
In addition to this, an Offshore Areas Mineral Trust has been established with coastal States as members of the Governing Body and Executive Committee of the Trust. The funds accruing to the trust would be used for research, administration, studies, and related expenditure with respect to offshore areas and mitigation of any adverse impact that may be caused to the ecology in the offshore area, due to operations undertaken, the statement underlined.
Published – December 10, 2025 10:24 pm IST
