Odisha inks lease deeds with 16 lessees before term expiry

The Odisha government has executed mining lease (ML) deeds with 16 lessees before the January 11, 2017 deadline stipulated for such mines.
 

These mining leases were saved under Section 10 (A) (2) (c) of the amended Mines and Minerals- Development & Regulation Act (MMDR), 2015.

In Odisha, ML deeds have been executed for the mines owned by Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL), Shree Metaliks Ltd, Pradhan Industries, Bajrang Lal Gupta, Manikeswari Minerals, Prakash Industries Ltd, Koustuv Mining & Smelting Ltd, Sanjukta Gems, Bijay Kumar Bansal, K C Pradhan, National Enterprises, Rudrasen Sindhu and Om Prakash Jain. But, currently all these mines were in a non-working state, Odisha's steel & mines minister Prafulla Mallick informed the state legislative assembly through a written reply. The mines would be in a position to operate after they receive the statutory clearances.

Earlier, the Union Mines Ministry in a letter to state governments had stressed on the need for expediting the cases saved under Section 10 (A) (2) (c) of MMDR Act, 2015. To speed up such cases, the ministry has held multiple rounds of discussions with the state government, concerned government departments and project proponents. The mines ministry has also coordinated with the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice and the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) so that the ML can be granted swiftly in cases where the mining plan has been sanctioned but suffered from pendency of environment clearance, forest clearance and settlement of forest rights.

Odisha had 62 such cases, while lease deeds have been executed for 16 of them, the remaining leases are likely to be put to auctions.