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Phalguna Jandhyala

New Delhi, Aug. 27 The Ministry of Mines has sought the consent of the Cabinet for empowering the Government to revise or review inconsistent orders passed by State Governments on mining issues.

An official close to the development told Business Line that the Cabinet approval has been sought based on recommendations of the Standing Committee on Coal and Steel.

“Under the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR Act), the Central Government has no power to revise any order passed by a State Government. The Committee has considered this an anomalous situation as in the absence of powers to revise any orders passed by the State Governments, there might be conflicting provisions and deviations, inconsistent with the spirit of the Central Act,” the committee observed in the report.

Therefore, the committee felt that the Central Government should retain its moderating roles and desired that the MMDR Act should be suitably amended to provide powers to the Central Government to review or revise the inconsistent orders passed by State Governments, the report added.

The committee also viewed with concern the manipulation of existing mining plans and the violations in mining major minerals in various States. “It was evident from large-scale transportation activities visible in the area, the mining companies were indulging in excessive excavation of minerals beyond the permissible limits under the approved plans. It is also painful to note that while mining plan approved of a particular area, mining activities were clandestinely being carried out much below the ground level and beyond the approved area,” the report said.

The Ministry was also told to come out with short term measures to contain unlawful mining activities. “It is also desired that the Ministry expeditiously frame the clear and unambiguous definition of illegal mining and also prepare a schedule of types of illegal mining for the information of concerned agencies and State Governments,” the report said.

So far, 14 States have framed rules under MMDR Act to curb illegal mining while the rest have been asked to follow suit, the official said.

The panel has also slammed the Ministry of Mines for its inability to ensure timely disposal of mining lease applications which could hamper mineral exploration in the country.

“The committee was anguished to note that 204 cases of grant of mining lease had been pending with State Governments of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh as on March 31 last year and the figure might increase further with the availability of information from other States,” the report pointed out.

It also expressed serious apprehension that the malaise of illegal mining would continue to raise its ugly head and the very purpose of streamlining the procedure of grant of mining lease would be defeated if the cases of grant of mining lease are not disposed of quickly.

“The committee feels that the Ministry cannot absolve itself from the responsibilities of timely disposal of mining lease application under the pretext that the issue is being reviewed by the high level committee of the Planning Commission,” the report noted.

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