Ziraat Times Team Report
Srinagar: As the government of India plans to announcements amendments in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 within a month or so, those associated with mining of basic building materials in Jammu & Kashmir fear that the new amendments would take away their mining rights and lease agreements for good.
Pertinently, Jammu & Kashmir administration has already re-tendered mining rights of key mineral resources like stones mined from stone quarries. Due to the cancellation of the older mining agreements, prices of stones have shot up considerably in Kashmir, so have the input costs of construction materials like crushed stones.
Those associated with the mining of these resources are apprehensive that the nature of the terms and conditions being introduced in the new laws and the re-tendering process already seem to exclude them from bidding them for the mining process.
“What we are seeing today is that these rights are being taken away from the local people who would engage in this activity for decades and provide job opportunities to countless people”, said Bashir Ahmed, who has been working at a stone quarry near Srinagar for about three decades.
Centre is planning to come out with an amended mining law in a month or so and the auction of mineral blocks will kickstart two to three months after the amendments take place, Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi has said. These amendments are expected to be applicable to Jammu & Kashmir as well.
The mines ministry had earlier sought suggestions from the general public, mining industry and other stakeholders on the proposed reforms in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
The slew of reform proposals include amending the contentious provisions of 10A(2)(b) and 10A (2)(C) of the MMDR Act, a move that would pave the way for auctioning of around 500 potential leases stuck in legacy issues now.
Section 10A(2)(b) deals with leases where reconnaissance permit or prospecting licence were granted while 10A(2)(c) relates to grant of mining leases.
Joshi said there is mixed opinion on 10A(2)(b) and 10A (2)(C) of the Act and stressed that it does not want to go into the details on the same.
The mines minister was of the view that the Centre would have to convince state governments before the auction of mineral blocks as the mines ministry was just the policy maker and “rest (with regard to auction) is with the state government.”
Under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme, the Centre had in May announced enhancing private investments in the mineral sector and bringing in other reforms.
The proposals include increasing mineral production and employment generation by redefining the norms of exploration for auction of mineral blocks and ensuring seamless transition from exploration to production.
They also include resolving legacy issues to move towards an auction only regime for allocation of mineral resources, removing the distinction between captive and non-captive mines, developing a transparent National Mineral Index and clarifying the definition of illegal mining, among others.
With inputs from a PTI report