Questioning Karnataka government's decision to recommend iron ore mining licence to a merchant mining company without competitive bidding, the state steel makers body has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to set aside the proposal.
"It is an irony that Karnataka government has rejected applications of all the steel companies and recommended mining concessions in favour of MSPL who is already having existing iron ore mining leases of more than 700 hectares in Karnataka," Karnataka Iron and Steel Manufacturing Association (KISMA) said.
"We fail to understand why state government hurriedly recommended the mining lease without competitive bidding. This action of the government is retrograde and will discourage investments in the state and the country," KISMA President Vinod Nowal said in a memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office.
When contacted, Tushar Giri Nath, Secretary (Mines, SSI and Textiles), Commerce and Industries, confirmed that the state government has recommended iron ore mining lease to MSPL.
"We have recommended iron ore mining lease to MSPL. After demarcation work, we will submit a report to the central government for its approval in this regard," he said.
KISMA demanded that the mining concession should be allocated by a transparent and competitive bidding process as directed by the Supreme Court.
The central government has already initiated the process to amend existing MMDR Act to enable auction of mineral resources by transparent and competitive bidding process, Nowal said.
