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| New Act for development and regulation of mines, minerals |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Oct 07, 2009, 16:39 IST |
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A new draft bill to replace the Mines and Minerals Development Regulation Act, 1957, would be placed before the Cabinet soon, a senior government official said here today.
The government is expected to place the bill to enact a new Mines and Minerals (Scientific Development and Regulation) Act in the winter session of Parliament.
"It (enactment of the new legislation) will take a few months. It is a major policy and requires Cabinet approval," Planning Commission Member B K Chaturvedi told reporters here on the sidelines of the Indian Coal Market Conference.
He said once the bill is enacted, competitive bidding will be introduced for allocation of coal blocks — a move that would benefit consuming industries like power and steel.
"Planning Commission says that the process for alloting coal blocks should be transparent and it should not be based on an assessment which people are not able to understand...The coal block can get exploited fast," Chaturvedi added.
At present, a screening committee under the Coal Ministry approves allotment of coal blocks for captive use to public and private companies.
The new Act would ensure more revenues to the state governments, in addition to the royalty they get from the coal extracted from the blocks.
Domestic power and steel companies have been voicing for speedy allocation of coal blocks to meet their production targets in time.
At present, the Minerals and Metals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, governs the process of exploration, mining and allotment of coal and lignite blocks.
The total coal reserves in the country stands at about 257.3 billion tonnes, out of which proven reserves are estimated to be around 94-95 billion tonnes.
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