Now GoM will resolve differences over mining reforms

Mining sector reforms have long been a victim of state apathy,which has led to the endemic menace of illegal mining.

Mining sector reforms have long been a victim of state apathy,which has led to the endemic menace of illegal mining. The reform process is now mired in inter-ministerial differences. The law,mines and steel ministries have aired their own sets of views on how to reform the sector,thereby rendering the introduction and passage of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 2010 a distant dream.

Realizing that the key reforms enunciated in the Draft MMDR Act may not see the light of day,the UPA government is likely to form a Group of Ministers (GoM) to iron out the differences between these ministries before taking the Draft Act to the union cabinet. Highly-placed sources said the finance ministry and the Prime Ministers Office are of the considered opinion that the differences between the ministries in the contours and dry details of the proposed legislation continue despite several meetings and there is therefore a pressing need for setting up a GoM before the Bill is taken to the Parliament in its coming Monsoon session. A bitter turf war broke out between the steel and mines ministries 3-4 months ago on the issue of seeking the Centres prior approval before granting mineral concessions. The mines ministry pitched for doing away with the system of according prior approval,arguing that it did not address the delays by mineral-rich states and that according such approval was immaterial as it would only have to delve on those proposals forwarded by the state governments. In the course of due diligence it emerged that prior approval did not give us the power to recommend concessions in favour of another person than the one recommended by the state, they said and pointed out that the system eroded the power of revision by making the Centre a party to the original decision.

Currently,the mines ministrys prior approval is required before the states can hand out mining leases. The ministry has,in Section 8 of the Draft MMDR Act,sought to devolve full powers to the states in order to empower them to independently decide on lease allocations. This upset steel minister Virbhadra Singh,who swiftly shot off a letter to his mines ministry counterpart BK Handique,asking him to retain the procedure of seeking the Centres prior approval for allocation of mining leases of strategic minerals such as iron ore,chrome ore and manganese ore to ensure that their utilisation is in the larger public interest.

Story continues below this ad

After that both the ministries fought over the sensitive issue of reserving iron ore-bearing areas for metal PSUs. Mines ministry officials maintain the reservation of mineral bearing areas for PSUs had a number of glaring drawbacks and that reservation powers go against the principles of a level-playing field,more so against the spirit of the Hoda Committees recommendations. But Singh pitched for reserving specified quantity of mineral resources in favour of PSUs through the government dispensation route as they needed continued support in the larger public interest.

Differences between the law and mines ministries also surfaced recently when the former suggested changes in the draft Bill to ensure conservation of minerals. It wrote to the mines ministry,asking it to re-christen the legislation as the Mines and Minerals (Conservation,Development and Regulation) Bill 2010. The legislative department is of the view that the country is likely to lose mineral wealth forever if large scale exports are permitted and for this reason conservation of minerals is to be taken into account. For this reason it has suggested that the title of the draft Bill be changed to Mines and Minerals (Conservation,Development and Regulation) Bill 2010, a law ministry official said.

‘Grave insult to wounded people’: Cong lashes out at PM Modi amid his first Manipur visit

India7 hr ago

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Manipur for the first time since ethnic violence hit the state in May 2023, the Congress on Saturday called it a “farce, tokenism, and a grave insult to a wounded people”.

View all shorts

Live Blog