BHUBANESWAR: As the new lessees of auctioned mines are facing difficulties in obtaining fresh approvals and clearances from statutory authorities within the specified time of two years, the Ministry of Mines has proposed to extend all rights and statutory clearances to them till the expiry or termination of the lease.
Since the move of the Centre needs further reforms in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, the Ministry has invited views of the states and other stakeholders on the draft additional amendment proposals to the principal Act by February 24.
"It is proposed to amend section 8B of the Act to provide that all valid rights, approvals, clearances, licences and the like granted to the lessee shall continue to be valid till exhaustion of mineable reserves and on expiry or termination of lease," said the supplementary proposal of the Ministry.
The Centre had amended the Act in January last year by inserting of a new section 8B to transfer statutory clearances to successful bidders of the mining leases expiring by March 31, 2020. The Mineral Laws Amendment Act, 2020 provided that new lessees deemed to have acquired all valid rights and clearances for a period of two years for seamless mining operations.
Nearly a year after the auction of working mines, the Ministry observed that the lessees are facing hardship in obtaining the clearances and it would not be possible for them to comply with the provisions of the new mining laws within the stipulated time.
"The new lessees have to obtain 20 approvals to start the mining operations, of which nine are from different Central ministries and the remaining are from the State government. In normal course, the minimum time period required to obtain these approvals vary from two to three years," sources said.
The lengthy process of getting all clearances is not only delaying the commencement of mining operations by the new lessees but has adversely affected the mineral production in the country pushing the ore price in the market and making steel production uncompetitive in the international market, the sources maintained.
Appreciating the move of the Ministry, industries sources said, "All the working mines auctioned before expiry of their leases have valid approvals and clearances. Extension of all rights would save time for the miners and boost production."
The changes were necessary as 46 working mines (24 mines from Odisha), whose leases expired on March 31 last year, have miserably failed to produce 80 per cent of the rated production capacity in the previous three years.
In view of the shortfall in iron ore production, the Ministry has also proposed to amend the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.