Centre asks Odisha government to take decision on transitional period of mines by 28 Feb, 2015.
Bhubaneswar: The deadlock between the Odisha and the union government on mining ordinance is remain unsolved as union mines ministry has asked the state government to taken decision on transitional period of mines by 28 Feb, 2015.
In a letter to the Odisha government, Mr. Naresh Kumar, joint secretary, Ministry of Mines, has asked the state to take a decision on transitional period of mines as per sub-section 5 and 6 of Section 8A of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Ordinance, 2015 by 28 Feb, 2015.
The sub-section 5 of the ordinance says, “The period of lease granted before the date of commencement of Ordinance where mineral is used for captive purpose will be extended and be deemed to have been extended upto a period till 31 Mar, 2030.”
Similarly, the sub-section 6 of the ordinance says, “The period of lease granted before the date of commencement of Ordinance where mineral is used for non-captive purpose will be extended and be deemed to have been extended upto a period till 31 Mar, 2020.”
There are 18 leading Iron ore and Manganese mines, which are closed following a SC order since May last year.
Odisha favors Auction Route
On the other hand, the Odisha government has once again reiterated its stand in favor of auction route. The Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Pattnaik on Sunday said that no further extension should be given to mining leases that have completed 50 years and should be allocated a fresh through the auction route.
Mr. Patnaik said that the state government is deeply disappointed with some of the provisions in the recent Ordinance on MMDR Act. While, it does provide for auction of mines, the provisions of deemed extension under Section 8A severely restricts the number of leases that can come up for auction during the next five years.
Leave a Reply