The mining industry will have to wait till at least the monsoon session of Parliament for passage of the new Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Bill. The legislation is being examined by a parliamentary standing committee.

In an interview here with Business Standard, the secretary in the ministry of mines, Vishwapati Trivedi, ruled out earlier passage of the Bill. “The Budget session starts on March 12 and I think the standing committee has not yet completed its deliberations. So, there’s no way we can get it in the Budget session,” he said.