Coal mines to come under purview of state enforcement squad

The activities of the State Level Enforcement Squad (SLES) on mining would be extended to monitor coal mines. The squad has been largely monitoring iron ore and manganese leases.

“The purview of the enforcement squad will now be extended to coal mines as well,” said steel & mines secretary Rajesh Verma after a meeting of the State Level Task Force chaired by chief secretary B K Patnaik.

The state government has also decided to bring coal mines under its Integrated Mines and Minerals Management System (i3MS). This is expected to help the mining department to track the entire coal movement chain from production to delivery to the end-users. The e-permit system will not leave any scope for irregularities in coal supply

The SLES in May-August period conducted 65 raids, seizing 71,790 tonnes of iron ore and chromite. An amount of Rs 13.65 lakh was realized by way of penalty.

Meanwhile, the steel & mines department has achieved integration of its i3MS with the online systems of four ports – Haldia, Dhamara, Gangavaram and Kakinada. System integration with the Paradeep port is under implementation.

To help expedite renewal of mine lease (RML) working under deemed extension, the steel & mines department has already conducted joint inspection with the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) for 47 such mines. The department has already received inspection reports for 40 mines and is awaiting reports for the remaining mines. These mines are mostly concentrated in Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts

The Shah Commission of enquiry constituted by Government of India in November 2010 to look into cases of growing illegal mining activities and suggest remedial measures had held that the provisions around renewal of mining lease involving deemed extension as laid down in the Mineral Concessions Rules-1960 are often misused.

The commission had suggested limiting the period of deemed extension to one year. The list of mines operating under deemed extension includes Tata Steel, Ferro Alloys Corporation Ltd (FACOR), Essel Mining & Industries Ltd, Mid-East Integrated Steel, Patnaik Minerals Ltd, R P Sao, Rungta Mines and OCL India among others. The disposal of RML cases is a big worry for the government as more than 200 applications are pending at different levels.

As cases for renewal of leases were piling up, the department is mulling to frame a dedicate mine lease renewal policy. The proposed RML policy aims at expeditious and efficient disposal of RML applications. The policy will cover all applicants for mine lease renewal including those currently working under deemed extension.

The steel & mines department has completed the task of digitization of 186 iron ore and manganese ore mines and submitted digital records of 145 mines to the Shah panel.

The department is currently scrutinizing the carrying capacity of Joda-Koira mineral rich belt submitted by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB). The financial implication of this study is Rs 6.5 lakh.