New Delhi — New lease owners following auctions of the 19 iron ore mines in Odisha would have to buy private lands falling in their lease area or get a ‘no objection’ certificate in two years, a government source said on Monday.
“There is no dispute,” the government source, not wishing to be named said. “In the lease areas, some part of the land belongs to the government and some to private parties.”
The source said that new lease holders would have to do the due diligence and then buy out the land or strike a deal with the private owners.
Each of the new lease holders would be getting a two-year extension of the environment and forest clearance. During this time, they would need to work on the mine exactly like the previous lessee.
During this time the new owners could also work on the mining plan for the future and if they need to mine in the land that belongs to the private party, they would need to prove to the collector that they have either bought it or have a NoC.
Based on that, the collector would give them the surface rights, the source clarified.
Some of these areas may be in non-mineral areas in which case, interest in the land may be only for storage and not mining.
“Till March 31, the mines are in operation so why should there be a problem (from the private parties),” the source questioned.
Odisha is currently auctioning 20 iron ore & manganese mines all of which are seeing very high levels of bids from the top metal and mining companies.
However, some people in the bidding companies expressed the fear that the private land owners will hinder their mining activity.
March 31 is the deadline for the auctions to be concluded.
~ By Ruchira Singh
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