The menace of deemed extension which was sharply pointed out by the Justice M B Shah Commission while probing illegal mining cases in Odisha, is on the radar of the NDA Government, which as part of its 100 days agenda, plans to amend the specific Mineral Amendment Rule (MCR) where the lease extension will be given only for two years instead of the existing 20 years, which had been led to irregularities in the sector.
The amendment, according to official sources, will be made in the MCR once the recommendations of Shah Commission's report on illegal mining in Odisha are accepted by the Government.
According to information available with The Pioneer, the Mines Ministry led by Narendra Singh Tomar in its action plan for the first 100 days of the BJP-led NDA Government, plans to amend Rule 24A(6) of MCR, which as of now says that if an application for renewal of mining lease made within prescribed time limit by a mine holder is not disposed off by a State Government before expiry date of the lease, then it is “deemed to be extended” for 20 years.
The ministry wants to amend this rule and consequent to this, if an application for renewal of a mining lease made within the prescribed time is not disposed of by the State Government before the lesaes's expiry date, then the lease period shall be deemed to have been extended by a further period of 2 years or till the State Government passes an order, whichever is earlier, with prospective effect.
In other words, the amendment proposed by the Mines Ministry, will replace the present 'deemed extension' for 20 years which sources said led to “irregularities”.
Sources privy to the development have confirmed to this newspaper that the Mines Ministry plans to move soon a note to the Union Cabinet for accepting the Shah panel's recommendations on illegal mining in Odisha.
Though the report on Odisha had been submitted to the Government by the panel in July last year, and the UPA Government had placed it in Parliament in February this year, with the 15th lok Sabha having lapsed and a new lok Sabha having been convened, it now needs to be placed before the Cabinet afresh.
Further to this, the Mines Ministry as per its 100 days agenda, also plans to amend Rule 24A(1) of MCR, which will make it mandatory for lease holders to send their applications for renewal of the lease(s) to the State Government at least twenty four months before the date of expiry of the lease in order to bring it in conformity with similar provisions which are in place for Forest Clearance.
The Mining Bill, which could not be placed in the 15th lok Sabha, sources said, is also another focus area of the Mines Ministry and it plans to place it before the Parliament after seeking views of all the concerned stakeholders, especially on its two significant aspects - method of issuance of mining leases and the 26 per cent profit sharing clause.
Sources further said that the Mines Ministry is also considering restructuring the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), a move which will help improve the regulation of the mining sector.
A note regarding this is likely to be placed before the Cabinet soon, they added.
Apart from this, the Government also plans to take up the stalled implementation of the revised royalty rates. Royalty rates for minerals are supposed to be revised after every three years, however there has been no revision since 2009.
In 2012, a working group had been set up by the Mines Ministry under the Chairmanship of the Additional Secretary to suggest revision of royalty rates, and it had recommended (as reported by The Pioneer) a hike in ad valorem rates for iron ore by 5 per cent (currently it is 10 per cent on the precious mineral). For other minerals too an increase had been suggested by the panel, however the new rates could not be implemented owing to difference of opinion between the Centre and various mineral-rich states on the matter.
The Mines Ministry now plans to implement these rates, as it believes that by doing so there will be a considerable increase in revenues of states.