Orissa to recommend mining concession cases only on merit

The Orissa government is unlikely to comply with the norm of ‘first in time applicant’ for recommending prospecting license (PL) in case of non-notified mining lease areas.

“We would recommend PL to the Government of India only on merit. Considering applicants only on 'first in time' basis for the non-notified mining lease areas would mean recommending PL for a large number of applicants without taking into account the real merit of such applicants and also the interests of the state”, a top official source told Business Standard.

The state steel and mines department has already prepared its response to the draft guidelines on joint ventures (JVs) and MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) issued in September this year by the Union ministry of mines. The response is currently under the scrutiny of the state Chief Secretary B K Patnaik and is expected to be sent soon to the ministry.

On signing of MoUs, the official said, “There has been no indiscriminate signing of MoUs by the state government. Wherever, MoUs have been signed, the interests of the state in general and the people to be displaced in particular have always been factored in.”

In its draft guidelines on Jvs/MoUs, the Union ministry of mines the signing of a large number of MoUs indiscriminately, and without considering what the other party is bringing to the table is not compatible with the use of the MoU as ‘special reasons’ for the purpose of Section 11 (5) of the MMDR Act.

An MoU for exploitation of a mineral resource at a specific location (i.e. specific lease area) in anticipation of a concession or a reservation will be deemed to be incompatible with principles of fair play and equity because it will give that MoU applicant an unfair advantage in relation to other MoU applicants who apply for the same area.

The ministry was of the view that it would contradict the policy of ‘first in time’ for non-notified areas or ‘most meritorious’ for notified areas, as the case may be, the Ministry of Mines had stated categorically in its guidelines.