The Hindu Business Line : Mineral policy to be placed before Cabinet by month-end

New Delhi, Oct. 10 The National Mineral Policy (NMP), which seeks to attract more investments in the mining sector, will be put before the Cabinet for its approval by the end of the month and is likely to be tabled in Parliament in the winter session.

“The policy is in the final stages and will be sent to the Cabinet very soon, may be by the end of the month. Once the Cabinet approves it, we intend to table it in Parliament in the coming winter session,” the Minister of State for Mines, Mr T. Subbarami Reddy, said here.

The NMP seeks to remove the bottlenecks in the sector where the Government expects investments close to Rs 1,00,000 crore in the next 10 years.

“The Government is also proposing a single window clearance system where Ministry officials concerned will address the bottlenecks which are hampering investments coming into the sector,” Mr Reddy said.

Mining leases

The Minister also stated that there was no attempt to take away the powers of the mineral-rich States in deciding the outcome of mining leases.

“I have spoken to the State Governments of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Karnataka and they now seem to be convinced,” he added.

Mr Reddy pointed out that during his recent trip to Orissa, he had met the Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik, and discussed the policy guidelines with him.

States assured

The Minister, however, clarified that although States would continue to enjoy the right to decide on mining lease applications, they are bound to complete the process within 15 months.

“We will not deprive the mineral-rich States of their say in the NMP, but they cannot sit indefinitely on the lease applications and will have to dispose them within a stipulated time,” Mr Reddy said.

Displaced population

He also urged the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) to ensure adequate rehabilitation to the population displaced due to mining operations and to adopt scientific technologies from their counterparts in Canada and Australia.