Odisha authorises second and subsequent renewal of mine leases

The Odisha government has passed a resolution authorising second and subsequent renewal of mining leases of private companies. Such renewals are generally not issued by state governments unless the projects are accepted as being in the interest of mineral development by the Indian Bureau of mines (IBM) at the Centre.

Irongate opened

Environmental clearance must for removing mine dumps in Goa: Union mines ministry

The Union ministry of mines has written to the the Goa government, saying environment clearance (EC) is mandatory for removing mining rejects dumped outside mine lease areas. Mine owners in the state have been dumping mining reject outside their lease areas for the past many years. In recent years, illegal miners have been making a beeline for this waste containing low ore content because now technology makes it possible to extract metal from this mining reject.

Will Andhra governor cancel mining leases?

Following requests from people residing in tribal-dominated Schedule V areas of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh, the Union ministry of mines has decided to return mining proposals to the state government for further consideration. This was announced by minister of mines with independent charge, Dinsha Patel, in the Lok Sabha on May 18. “This (the move) would enable the governor of Andhra Pradesh to use his discretionary powers on the issue of the proposals,” the mines ministry said in a statement.

Sand slips

Ministry indifferent to illegal mining

Mines ministry says no to export ban on minerals to check illegal mining

The Ministry of Mines has disapproved of Shah Commission’s primary recommendation to ban exports of all iron and manganese ores to check illegal mining. In its response to the Shah Commission's interim report on illegal mining in December, the ministry noted that it was not exports but poor state governance that has left illegal mining unchecked. The Commission, under Justice M B Shah, was set up by the Centre in November 2010 to look into illegal mining of iron and manganese ores. It submitted its interim report on July 14, 2011.

Captive coal block miners, too, must share profits with people

The Union coal ministry is all set to propose a fixed levy on coal mined from captive coal blocks. The levy so collected will be paid directly to the affected communities in mining areas.

Governance failure

Mining in India is regulated by multiple institutions functioning at multiple levels to provide checks and balances. In Bellary, however, every department and agency supposed to regulate and control mining simply collapsed under the weight of the “loot”. Bellary, therefore, represents a colossal failure of governance.

Mining bill gets it right

Sustainable mining is an oxymoron. Environmentalists will tell you this. Mining—coal to limestone—takes away forests, devastates mountains and leaves the land pockmarked. It also destroys livelihoods of people and displaces them. Worse, modern, mechanised mining takes away livelihood based on land but does not replace it with local employment—all estimates show that direct employment in the mining sector has fallen sharply. It provides wealth, but not for local development.