Parliament clears mines Bill

Govt expects transfer of non-auctioned mines to happen smoothly

Transfer of captive mines in cases of mergers and acquisitions would now be possible with Parliament on Monday clearing an amendment to the mining law. Major deals among cement companies like UltraTech, Reliance Cements and Lafarge were stuck because the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 permitted transfer of mining leases only for auctioned mines.

Now, as the amendment has been cleared by Parliament, the government expects the transfer of non-auctioned mines to happen smoothly. Mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in the Rajya Sabha that the amendment was in the larger interest of workers and the provision was not intended to benefit any industrial house.

Auction of non-coal mines was introduced in the new mining law which was passed last year. Before 2015, all mines in India were handed out by state governments on discretion.

In January, the government proposed the amendment to "spur merger and acquisitions in the mining sector and help in checking the stressed and non-performing assets of banks by allowing them to liquidate assets where a firm or its captive mining lease is mortgaged".