Centre seeks states' views on new mining law

Tomar to hold meeting of state mining ministers on May 27 in Goa

Union mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar has called a meeting with his state counterparts to discuss key issues in the mining sector such as states' mining auction preparedness and setting up of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) on May 27 in Goa.

Despite problems in auctioning non-coal mineral blocks in the first phase, states told the central government last month that they were ready to auction 82 blocks in the second phase.

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In the first phase, expected to be over by June, states had planned to auction 52 blocks. Till date, only six blocks have been auctioned.

This issue is at the top of the agenda for discussion in Goa. States are said to be facing various problems such as land acquisition, court orders, less interest from bidders, etc.

Five major mineral-rich states are yet to set up DMF - a local benefit-sharing mechanism - even after a year of the new mining law, which introduced this provision.

The Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, known as MMDRA Act, 2015, passed by Parliament in March last year, mandated DMFs in all districts affected by mining-related operations. This new law mandated auction for every non-coal mine, too.

According to information provided by the states to the Centre in April, it has come to light that Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are yet to constitute DMFs. Moreover, some states have established DMFs, but they have not started the revenue collection for it till date.

In India, most districts affected by mining-related operations are extremely poor, not having even basic amenities such as clean water, schools or hospitals. The Union mines minister is likely to take up these issues with states at the meeting.

Another important issue to be discussed in Goa is various measures which can be taken to curb illegal mining. Currently, a Mining Surveillance System (MSS) for major minerals is being developed with the help of Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications & Geo-Informatics, Gujarat, to curb the incidences of illegal mining with the use of space technology.

The Centre has requested the state governments to provide the available digitised lease-wise information for all major mineral leases in their state for expediting the development of MSS.

The other issues to be discussed include the setting up of National Mineral Exploration Trust and IT adoption in mineral regulation and administration by state governments.

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AUCTION AGENDA

• Mines auction is at the top of the agenda for discussion
   
• Till date, only six blocks have been auctioned out of the 52 planned
   
• States facing various problems in auctions such as land acquisition, court orders, etc
   
• Setting up local benefit sharing mechanism through DMF another major issue
   
• Five major mineral-rich states are yet to set up DMF even after a year of the new mining law