To make auction of mineral blocks more attractive, the Union Government has urged the State Government to go for auction of mines with pre-embedded statutory clearances on a pilot basis.

The Ministry of Mines has decided that Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka Governments may be requested to go for auction of mineral blocks with pre-embedded clearances.

Union Mines Secretary Sushil Kumar has requested the State Governments in this regard as they are empowered to facilitate ease of doing business for the new leases.

The issue of pre-embedded statutory clearances is also one of the action points in Vision-2024 being finalised in the Government of India Committee chaired by the Prime Minister.

As per the rules, for execution of a mining lease, a successful bidder is required to obtain 20 clearances and approvals. Out of these approvals, the Union Government will provide nine while rest 11 will be extended by the State Governments.

Time required to obtain the clearances takes two to three years and the successful bidder will not be in a position to go for commencement of mining operations as soon as it gets the permission.

As the State Governments are the owners of the minerals, the entire process can be streamlined by making the State Governments as applicant for Central Government clearances.

Environment and forest clearances are the two major statutory requirements for commencement of mining operations, officials said. They said the State Governments paying requisite fees for such clearances would apply so that the process is expedited. The fees required for clearances can be built into the auction fees, said the officials.

In fact, the State Governments have agreed to this in the Coordination Committee Meeting held recently to put mineral blocks into auction with pre-embedded clearances. This would make the auction process more attractive and pave the way for higher investment, especially Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Secondly, as the lease period of 46 non-captive working mines are expiring on March 31, 2020 under Section 8A(6) of the MMDR Act, these mines are to be reallocated after auction under provisions of the MMDR Act.

The Ministry of Mines has requested the other concerned Ministries to expedite the process of providing clearances to successful bidders for these mines to ensure uninterrupted supply of raw material to the industries.