Jharkhand Sstate mines and minerals department has imposed a fine of over Rs 32,000 crore to errant mines’ lessees across the State for various offences like sub letting the mining site for proxy mining or violating the mines acts and rules.
Sources informed that around 15 to 20 offenders of iron ores mines have been slapped with the notices.
Secretary of mines and minerals department, Aboo Backer Siddique said, “Our department has issued penalty notices worth Rs 32,000 to Rs 33,000 crore against the offenders.”
He added, “Some of the errant mines’ lessees who have been served the notices have moved to court for seeking relief or exoneration but our department is fully geared up to bring all such offenders of mining into the fold of rules, guidelines and acts of the mining.”
Siddique informed that these notices are to drive a point home that errant miners cannot get away with whatever they want to do. “They will have to explain their misdoings. We are very tough with such offenders,” he said.
Sources said that complaints of proxy mining come up every now and then in the state. Proxy mining is where a lessee of a mine has sub let his mine for extraction of coal, iron, graphite and other minerals to someone else, who is not so authorized.
Siddique said “Complaints of proxy mining do come. We have taken adequate and effective measures to tackle this mining fraud. Our department is seriously committed to end this menace.”
Joint secretary of the department, Kumud Sahay, has issued a letter to all the deputy commissioners, district mining officers, assistant mining officers and deputy directors to be on guard against any proxy mining cases.
Siddique said that every lessee is to comply with the acts, rules, guidelines, instructions and letters enshrined in Mines & Minerals Development Regulatory Act 1957 & Minerals Concession Rules 2016.
“There is Jharkhand Mineral Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation Rule 2017 which every lessee has to comply with and any violation and digression from it is liable for punishment under the provisions of the Rule,” Siddique said.
DCs and district mining officers have been asked to hold regular meetings of Task Force to curb and contain illegal mining and proxy mining. A regular inspection of mining lease and registers related to mining, storage, transportation has to be conducted by the DCs and district mining officers as a measure to detect and discover illegal and proxy mining, a copy of which has to be sent to mines directorate.