Incriminating documents seized, says investigating agency

Govt asks AP guv to use powers in Scheduled Areas to cancel bauxite lease in Maoist area

A day after Maoists killed six CISF personnel and a driver inside the biggest iron ore mining facility in the country, the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) complex here remained ungu

PANJIM: The minor mineral extractors in the state will now have to seek permission from union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) before applying for the licence with the state Mines and Geology department, according to an order issued the Mines department on Thursday following Supreme Court directives.

The directives stated that the leases of minor mineral including their renewal for an area of less than five hectares be granted by the States/Union Territories only after getting environmental clearance from the MoEF. The order was passed on February 27, in a petition filed by one Deepak Kumar and other v/s state of Haryana.

The stock tanked over 8% at Rs 606 on huge volumes

JSW Steel has tanked over 8% at Rs 606 on reports that the Supreme Court (SC) orders the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) probe on the company’s mining case. Earlier, a panel appointed by the SC has recommended that the apex court direct CBI to look into linkages between the donation of Rs 10 crore made by South West Mining, an associate firm of JSW group and alleged receipt of illegal mineral ore by JSW Steel and the alleged favours shown to it in respect of Mysore Minerals Limited.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday referred the draft bill for setting up a coal regulatory authority to a GoM. Informing this, a minister said, “Coal matter has been referred to GoM.” He, however, did not provide details as to why the matter was referred to the GoM.

Sources in the coal ministry said that a consensus could not be reached on some of the provisions in the Bill as some of the ministers felt it needed modifications. Also, the “general opinion was that why so many executive functions have been given to the regulator”, sources said.

The CBI is unlikely to book the 15 lease holders whose mines were taken over by an alleged mafia operated by former Karnataka minister G Janardhan Reddy between 2008 and 2010 in an illegal mining s

After deciding to integrate railway freight data with the Integrated Mines and Mineral Management System (i3MS), the online data verification and permit generation software for mineral transports, the steel and mines department now plans to integrate the software with the commercial tax department.

“By June 1, the integration with the Railways will be completed wherein information on mineral transported from Odisha will be cross verified in real-time. Efforts are now being taken to integrate i3MS with the commercial tax department on verification of sale value of the mineral,”

PANJIM: The mining companies operating the leases in wildlife sanctuaries in the past will have to pay for restoration of the areas affected with the extraction and dumping of the ore.

Following a high court directive, the state forest department has decided to rigorously follow up the matter with the mining companies asking them to pay the cost of restoration.