The Navhind Times Goa News
NT NETWORK
PANAJI
In keeping with the plan of advancing the auctioning process, the Union Ministry of Mines has invited objections and suggestions for amendment to the Mineral Concession and Amendment Rules 2017. The last date for comments or suggestions is February 16, 2018.
The proposed amendment for key minerals such as iron ore, manganese and
chromite ore etc is to ensure time-bound exploration in the mining leases expiring in 2020 and due for auctioning.
As per the proposed amendment, holders of mining leases expiring under sub section 6 of section 8A, where the leases expire on March 31, 2020, shall submit an exploration plan within 60 days of the notification to state mining departments.
The state must approve the plan within 30 days after submission with or without modifications. The lessees shall be duty-bound to implement the plan, including its timelines so as to complete the exploration by April 1, 2019.
Expediting exploration and preparing mineral blocks for auction by May 1, 2019, was one of the key decisions taken in the mining ministers’ meeting held in Goa on January 19, 2018. The purpose of speeding up the auction process is to make the auctioned blocks operational as early as possible so that production is not affected. The meeting concluded with the mines minister asking states to expeditiously give approvals and clearances for auctions within a timeframe.
Auctioning of expired non-coal mining leases is a major clause of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act 2015. To facilitate auction, the government vide amendment of the Mineral Auction Rules in November 2017 had significantly eased the terms of eligibility of bidders.
A total of 33 blocks have been auctioned so far and it fetched the government Rs 1,28,000 crore in revenues.
Meanwhile in Goa, 174 mining leases expiring in 2020 are slated to come up for auction. However, the Chief Minister during the mining ministers’ conference had said, “The state will need to take a view on the auction as a nine-member Supreme Court bench is considering the issue of the rights of lessees given prior to independence vis-à-vis mines of the Goa Mining legislations.”
He had said that Goa’s mining industry is complex as the case of ‘Goa, Daman And Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition And Declaration As Mining Leases) Act, 1987’ is still pending in the Supreme Court of India.
