While the Ministry of Mines in its latest amendment has decided to extend existing forest clearances to the next lessee, the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has decided to extend their conditions and liabilities too.
Until recently permission to divert forest land under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 was considered coterminous to the mining lease. Then the Mines Ministry, concerned over the possible shortage of iron ore with the simultaneous lapsing of most operating merchant mines in March 2020, extended to prospective new lessees – a two-year window to get clearances. In the meanwhile, he could go about mining with the previous environmental cap and forest clearance.
The 28 March 2021 amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2021 extended these for the life of the mine: “…provided that even after expiry or termination of lease and such rights, approvals, clearances, licenses and the like shall be transferred to, and vested; subject to the conditions provided under such laws; in the successful bidder of the mining lease selected through auction under the said Act. It has also been provided in the amendment Act that it shall be lawful for the new lessee to continue mining operations on the land till expiry or termination of mining lease granted to it, in which mining operations were being carried out by the previous lessee.” Until the new lessee operated within the same permitted cap and within the diverted forest areas.
Adjusting to this change, the MOEF on 7 July 2021 clarified that such a transfer will be subject to complete compliance to the terms and conditions of the FC. Non-compliance stipulated in the approval shall be transferred as liabilities to the new allocattee. In such a case, the new lessee will have to first meet the unmet conditions and give an undertaking to meet the remaining conditions before it can start mining. He will also have to restrict himself to the areas for which the clearance had been granted for; any change to land use would need prior Central government approval. He need not worry about being penalised for any violations of the FCA 1980 by the previous lessee.
States on their part will have to ensure that Net Present Value, Safety Zone Plantation and Compensatory Afforestation (CA) dues have been deposited and alternate land for such afforestation has been identified and acquired, if not by the old lessee, then the inheritor of the forest clearance. A transfer fee is applicable and goes into the compensatory afforestation or CAMPA fund.
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