Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jan 26: The Central government has proposed amendments to the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015, to accelerate the operationalisation of auctioned mineral blocks by allowing partial execution of mining leases through the separation of forest and non-forest areas.
The Union Ministry of Mines has sought feedback from stakeholders, including state governments, on the proposed changes under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
According to the ministry, the amendments aim to fast-track the start of mining operations by permitting part execution of mining leases for forest and non-forest areas, introducing a unified digital mining portal for auctions, enabling automatic issuance of letters of intent, reducing the time between issuance of letters of intent and execution of leases, and increasing upfront payments for certain minerals.
Under the proposal, a preferred bidder may be allowed to exclude a portion of a mineral block that falls under forest land, provided it is located at the edge or corner of the block and constitutes less than 20 per cent of the total estimated mineral resources. Alternatively, states may allow execution of mining leases in parts—separately for non-forest and forest areas—if the block does not contain deep-seated minerals.
In cases of part execution, the Mine Development and Production Agreement will be signed in two stages. The first agreement will cover the non-forest area, allowing mining to begin early, while the second will be executed for the entire block after obtaining all statutory clearances, approvals and no-objection certificates for the forest portion.
The ministry has also proposed the launch of a unified portal to streamline the mineral auction process and ensure timely completion of auctions and faster issuance of letters of intent.
Officials said the proposed amendments are expected to ease procedural bottlenecks, reduce delays caused by forest clearances and give a boost to the mining sector by enabling quicker commencement of operations in auctioned blocks.
In Goa, out of 12 mineral blocks auctioned so far, only five have begun operations, while seven are still awaiting environmental clearance, forest clearance and other statutory approvals.