Government proposes to set up a National Mining Regulator

August 06,

The Government proposes to set up a National Mining Regulator for major minerals, such as Iron ore and Coal, which would help tackle the growing menace of illegal mining in the country.

The National Mineral Regulatory Authority will be an independent quasi-judicial body and would have powers to commission investigations and also prosecute and it is to be modelled on the lines of TRAI and SEBI.

The authority will deal with cases relating to exploration and mining without leases, storage and transportation without valid permits among other issues based on written complaints.

The structure of the proposed regulatory authority is likely to be finalized on Monday by the Group of Ministers (GoM) set up to look into the new mining legislation.

So far about 10 States, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, have prepared action plans to curb illegal mining.