Bid to prevent captive mine owners from selling byproducts; make them add value to ore.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has voiced his opposition to some provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Bill-2011, stating that the bill if enacted in the current form would be a departure from federal structure of the constitution.

Pointing out that regulation of mines and mineral development is basically a state subject, Patnaik said that the MMDR Bill attempts to transfer certain powers and functions being exercised by states to the Centre.

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.

Minimum size of mine lease should be 5 ha. Minimum period of mine lease should be 5 years.Mine plans should be made mandatory

Separate corpus for reclamation and rehabilitation of mined out areas. For river bed mining, leases should be granted stretch wise, depth may be restricted to 3m/water level, whichever is less, and safety zones should be worked out.

SHILLONG: The Union Ministry of Mines has enunciated the National Mineral Policy 2008, which seeks to develop a sustainable framework for optimum utilization of the country’s natural mineral resources for the industrial growth in the country, and at the same time improving the life of people living in the mining areas, which are generally located in the backward and tribal regions of the country.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday once again urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to personally review the issue of imposition of Minerals Resources Rent Tax (MRRT) on iron ore on account o

The Chawla Committee Report reveals that the government's legal references and disclosures to the Supreme Court on the MMDR Act is not the whole truth, which could be an additional reason for the report gathering dust.

The Ministry of Mines has framed a new MMDR Bill 2011 to replace the old MMDR Act 1957 which has been referred to the GoM and vetted by the Law Ministry. The review

New Delhi The government can go ahead and allocate mining leases on a first come, first served (FCFS) basis, attorney general GE Vahanvati has told the government.

New Delhi Keen to stay clear of the minefield of scandals and lawsuits, the Union mines ministry has asked the attorney general (AG) whether mining lease applications can be disposed of under the first-come-first-served (FCFS) policy, until upcoming legislation makes auction mandatory.

The ministry's concern is that granting mineral concessions through FCFS policy might attract strictures from the Supreme Court and run afoul of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's stated position on the matter.Over 400 pending mining lease/licence execution cases are waiting for the ministry's no-objection certificate, before states can process the lease.

The Centre and Orissa government find themselves on a war footing as the Centre holds the state responsible for stepping on its toes by determining royalty rates of iron ore.