The new Mines Bill, which provides for sharing of
profits and royalty with project-affected people, is likely to be introduced in
the winter session of Parliament, a senior official said.
The Bill, earlier supposed to be tabled during the just concluded monsoon session,
has not yet been placed before the Cabinet despite the fact that it was
approved by a ministerial panel in July.
When asked, Mines Secretary S Vijay Kumar told, “There is no delay. We
have sent the Cabinet note on the draft bill to Cabinet Secretariat and
other concerned ministries. It will soon come up before the Cabinet for
approval”.
He added that “the draft bill is now likely to be introduced in Parliament
in its next session after the Cabinet approval”.
In July, the ministerial panel, headed by Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee, had approved the draft bill, which provides 26
per cent profit-sharing with displaced people by coal mining companies.
The draft bill also proposes to set up a district
development fund, where the money accumulated from the 26 per cent profit
sharing by coal miners and an amount equivalent to 100 per cent of royalty for
non-coal miners, will be deposited and will get spent on local population and
area development, the draft bill has proposed.
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