Monday, December 06,
A ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has approved the new mining bill that proposes 26 per cent profit-sharing by miners with the people affected by the project, Mines Minister B K Handique said.
To address the concers of mineral rich states such as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, the panel asked the mines ministry “to strengthen the clause on competitive bidding for prospecting and mining leases”, ministry sources said.
States have opposed a provision of the bill, which says that first come first serve route will be adopted for granting large area prospecting licences (LAPLs) instead of competitive bidding method.
Mines Secretary S Vijay Kumar told reporters after the meeting that “section 13 of the proposed bill says that whereever there is mineralisation, the area will have to be notified and bid for. That is the ruling provision.”
Sources said “after making necessary changes, the final draft will be sent to Finance Minister, who heads the panel, for his approval and thereafter it will be placed before the Cabinet”.
This was the fourth meeting of the GoM, constituted to iron out the differences among the ministries over the profit sharing formula in the new legislation — Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation Act (MMDR Act), 2010.
Source: The Economic Times
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