Time line set for mining leases

The mine lease holders in the country can no longer dilly dally on prospecting work on mining leases. According to a circular issued by the Government of India, a time frame has been specified for completion of prospecting work of mining leases depending on the area on which these leases are spread.

"The Government of India has published a circular and issued directions to the state governments to impose a special condition in all the existing and future leases in the country for all major minerals excluding coal. All mining leases with an area of less than 10 hectares would have to complete prospecting work within one year of imposition of the condition in the mining lease”, a top official source said.

For mining leases with area ranging from 10-50 hectares, prospecting work for one half of the area should be completed within one year of imposition of condition in the mining lease while the prospecting work for the remaining half of the mining lease area has to be completed within three years.

Similarly, for mining leases spread over an area of more than 50 hectares, all the prospecting work has to be completed in a period of five years from the date of imposition of the condition of in the mining lease.

The mine lease holders would also have to submit yearly report on the progress of prospecting work along with the expenditure details to the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM).

The owner of a mining lease shall ensure that prospecting work is carried out in his lease area in such mining lease where prospecting has not been done and a prospecting report has not been filed with the IBM.

Moreover, the mine lease owner also has to ensure that fresh prospecting work has become necessary for such minerals for which the threshold values have been revised by the IBM and fresh prospecting is required to prove the depth persistency of the ore or mineral deposit.

Out of 597 mining leases in Orissa, hardly 25 per cent are operational. The state government had suspended the operations of around 200 mines in the aftermath of illegal mining activities.

As many as 310 applicants had applied for renewal of mining leases (RML) out of which 53 were eligible and they are now operating under deemed extension.

The state steel & mines department was aiming to dispose RML cases by the end of 2011.