State says IBM report on 'mineral development' not binging

The Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) has sought from the Odisha government the details of 24 mining leases, which are awaiting extension of the validity period of the leases, before giving its recommendation whether the leases should be renewed in the interest of 'mineral development'. The communication from IBM is in contrast with October 2012 executive order of the state government, which asserted that the state is empowered to take a decision about 'mineral development' while processing renewal application.

The row surrounding transfer of land for industrial park proposed at Gopalpur in south Odisha has seemingly affected starting of construction activity by Tata Steel which is the anchor tenant for the project.

With state government officials still in a dilemma on whether the land transfer deed needs to be executed in the name of Tata Steel or Gopalpur Special Economic Zone (SEZ), work on project has suffered a delay. This is despite the fact that the steel maker has taken advanced possession of land and is almost through with boundary wall construction.

A top official from the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) on Tuesday expressed concern over closing down of mines following irregularities by miners, citing the case of Karnataka and Goa as the recent examples of such closures.

Mining cannot be done “at the cost of environment” and social concerns and a sustainable growth structure is required for the industry, Controller General of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) C S Gundewar said on Tuesday. There is a need to evolve sustainable development framework within which all mineral development activities are carried out integrating economic, social and environmental components in the mining industry, according to him.

Aiming to expedite disposal of applications for renewal of mining leases, the steel & mines department has rejected 135 such applications of a total of 323 applicants.

“We have already rejected 135 applications for mine lease renewal. These applications did not merit renewal as they lacked the necessary statutory clearances. The department is making all efforts to dispose off pending applications in accordance with the directive of the Odisha High Court,” said an official source.

The Odisha government has decided to rope in Rail India Technical and Economic Services (Rites), the engineering and consultancy arm of Indian Railways, to make an assessment of land requirement for non-major port projects.

“We are going to engage Rites for assessing land need of non-major port projects in the state. We have already got government approval for the same,” said a top commerce & transport department official.

The state energy department has proposed to impose a special cess on industrial water consumers for maintenance of water reservoirs. The proposal is aimed at reducing energy tariff as hydro power generators include maintenance expenditure while quoting rates for sale of electricity.

"A corpus should be created by imposing a levy on the industries drawing water from different reservoirs for the purpose of maintenance of reservoirs and water sources by making periodical dredging and removal of shoals,” energy secretary P K Jena wrote to the water resources department.

‘The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay recovery of entry tax dues amounting to more than R350 crore, payable on goods imported by companies for their plants and services in Orissa between 2008 and 2012. Companies including Vedanta Aluminium and Tata Steel have been slapped notices over these dues.

A bench headed by Justice HL Dattu, while issuing notice to the state government, refused to grant interim stay against the Orissa High Court’s order that upheld the state’s decision to tax the import of capital goods under the provisions of the Orissa Entry Tax Rules, 1999. However, the state government said it will not take any coercive action against the firms.

The Directorate of Mines on Monday informed the Supreme Court appointed Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) that it has completed the process of lease renewal of 40 mines, which are working under deemed extension provision.

“The CEC queried about the status of mines operating under deemed extension provision. We informed them that we have sent recommendation letters for 40 mines out of 50 working under deemed extension basis. Rest of the cases will be expedited soon,” said Deepak Mohanty, after his meeting with CEC officials here on Monday.

As many as 54 mining leases in Odisha are operating under deemed extension following the expiry of their leases. The expiry period of the leases ranges from five to 25 years.

According to information given by minister for steel & mines Rajani Kant Singh in the state assembly, mine owners like Tata Steel, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL), Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), Essel Mining & Industries Ltd (EMIL), Mid East Integrated Steel Ltd, Ferro Alloys Corporation (FACOR), Rungta Sons and KJS Ahluwalia are operating their leases under deemed extension.

Jamshedpur The HIsarna iron making technology being developed jointly by a consortium of steelmakers in Europe led by Tata Steel, holds prospects of not only being a major green technology but also promises 25% savings in terms of capital expenditure (capex) and operational expenditure (opex).

The technology, which has steel makers ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, ArcelorMittal and Salzgitter on board, is based on a cyclone reactor, patented by Tata Steel Europe, for melting iron ore, which combines beneath to a HI-smelt (bath smelter) developed by Rio Tinto in Australia.