The State Government has made provisions for royalty-free mining by ancestral SC, ST artisans or potters for making tiles, pots or bricks. They need not obtain mining lease for such purposes. In directives to district collectors, the government has prescribed provisions to make these rules practical.
Madhya Pradesh Minor Minerals Rules-1996 were amended on March 23, 2013. As per the rules, mining of clay or sand was prohibited within 100 meters of bridges, national/ state highways, rail lines, public buildings, crematorium land, riverbanks, canals, dams, water bodies and water conservation structures, within 50 kilometer of other pucca roads and nullahs and within 10 meter of rural kuchcha roads.
Before providing this benefit, it would be necessary for collectors concerned to identify the site for mining clay and sand through gram sabha of the gram panchayat. Information about identified site would have to be entered in khasra panchshala and nistar-patrak. If an application is moved for mining in any area other than the identified site, then permission for mining can be granted after endorsement by the gram sabha concerned.
Verification of persons exempted from provisions of new rules would be done by tahsildar or naib tahsildar of the concerning area. In the verification, mention of area's location, quantity of minerals and timeframe would be made. After verifiying, mineral transit passes will be issued by in-charge officer, mining branch of concerning district for free of charge transportation of minor mineral.
Process to make rules practical
Under the new rules, an exempted person would apply to tahsildar or naib tahsildar of concerning area to obtain verification who would in turn verify the application after scrutinising it and would also give a report thereof. Exempted person would have to apply for obtaining free transit passes.
In-charge officer, mining branch of concerning district would issue printed transit passes to tahsil office. Its record would also be maintained.
Tashildar or naib tahsildar of concerning area would provide transit passes received from in-charge officer, mining branch of concerning district to exempted person free of cost to transport minerals required by them. Its separate entry would be made by tahsildar or naib tahsildar of the area in Form-6. Official stamp would be put on every page of the transit letter.
In case of issuance of transit pass for second time, second copy of used transit pass with physical verification would be obtained. Thus, minerals would be transported under transit pass. Royalty-free transit passes in Form-5 would be printed by Directorate of Geology and Mining. Such printed transit books would be made available to all district offices.