The Jharkhand government will not grant any mining and prospecting licences till the pendency of the President's Rule, a top government official said.
"Jharkhand government has taken a decision not to grant any mining or prospecting licences during the President's Rule. Any such decision will be taken by a popular government," Jharkhand Industry Secretary N N Sinha, who is in-charge of Mines Department too, said.
The move is understood to have hit multi-billion dollar worth investment lined up by firms like ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel and JSW Steel in the state. The companies are awaiting various regulatory clearances to start mining on coal, iron ore blocks allotted to them.
Sinha said the decision was taken recently by the government. Asked about the delays in projects on account of the policy change, he said it could be expedited when an elected government comes to power in the state, likely by February.
However, he could not provide the details about the investment which would be hit by such a decision. It is estimated that the state has attracted investment worth over Rs two lakh crore in steel, coal and mining sector.
ArcelorMittal, for example, has applied for iron ore and coal blocks in the state to feed its proposed Rs 50,000-crore steel project. However, the company is caught up in the regulatory hurdles to get the mining leases for the venture.
"ArcelorMittal has complied with all the regulatory norms to get the prospecting and mining licences to develop the coal and mining blocks allocated to it. Unfortunately, this decision has stalled the progress of our project," a senior company official said, requesting anonymity.
ArcelorMittal was among 40 companies to have received show-cause notices from the Coal Ministry for failing to develop the blocks awarded to them in stipulated period.
The ministry has threatened ArcelorMittal to de-allocate a block awarded to it jointly with Hyderabad-based GVK Power in Jharkhand.
State-run MMTC has also received a show-cause notice from the ministry for the delay in mine development.
"We have already applied for the prospecting licence some six months back and the matter is pending with the Jharkhand government," MMTC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Batra said.
