Orissa pushes for effective implementation of new MMDR Act

State to apprise Centre on measures to curb illegal mining.

Orissa government has urged Government of India to put in place a monitoring mechanism to ensure the effective implementation of the changes proposed in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation)-MMDR Act, 1957.

"While we are open to all changes that are made in the MMDR Act to curb illegal mining and to make sure that the benefits of mining activities percolate to the affected people, we have sought a monitoring mechanism for the effective implementation of the new measures,” a top official of the state steel and mines department told Business Standard.

A Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by the Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has arrived at a consensus on the new MMDR Bill. It has been decided to set up an independent regulator called National Mining Regulatory Authority (NMRA) through an ordinance under the existing MMDR Act. This ordinance is likely to be issued within a month.

The independent regulator will have the powers to investigate and prosecute miners involved in illegal mining. The regulator is being set up in the wake of alleged increase in illegal mining activities in different states including Orissa.

The GOM had also agreed on a proposal which would make its mandatory for the miners to share 26 per cent of the profits with the locals. Orissa has hailed the move to set up an independent regulator as well the sharing of profits with the locals.

Meanwhile, the Orissa government would apprise the Government of India on the measures taken by the state to rein in illegal mining activities in the aftermath of the multi million crore mining scam during a meeting of 10 states on illegal mining in New Delhi scheduled for Tuesday.

The state steel and mines department has already kicked off the process to prepare maps of all the mining areas on the lines of revenue maps. The maps so prepared would be scanned and thereafter digitized to enable the state steel and mines department to have records of the operations of all the miners in the state.

Global Positioning System (GPS) would be used for mapping of the different mining areas in the state. The survey of the mining areas will be taken up by the concerned officials of the department of steel and mines as well as geology.

Besides, it has been decided to draw the boundaries of all the mining lease areas to ensure that a lessee cannot encroach upon the lease areas of other player.

The mining maps and the digital records of the mining areas will also enable the state steel and mines department to know if a miner is illegally carrying out mining operations on forest land without the clearance of the Union ministry of environment and forests.

To check the transport of illegally mined ore, it has been decided to issue transit passes to the truckers. The transit pass will have all the information on the source of ore, the name of the miner and the destination to which the ore is carried.