SC raps Karnataka for delay in mining leases' renewal

About 40 iron ore mining applications are awaiting lease renewal in the state

The Supreme Court has directed the Karnataka government to expedite the processing of applications for the renewal of mining leases in the state and present a detailed plan of action in this regard within three weeks.

It directed the state’s additional chief secretary/principal secretary to ensure the schedule in this regard was adhered to. A three-judge bench of the court also asked the director general of forests and the special secretary in the Union environment ministry to assist it in resolving delayed clearances.

In Karnataka, about 40 iron ore mining applications are awaiting renewal of their leases. Some of these, including one from Mineral Enterprises Ltd (MEL), had applied for renewal in 2010.

SLOW PROGRESS

• Supreme Court green bench has asked Karnataka govt to speed up the process of lease renewal
• There are close to 40 mining leases awaiting renewal in Karnataka
• Once renewed, these mines could add 7-8 million tonnes of iron ore annually
• Renewal of leases, which normally takes over 2 years, has not been done for several mines since 2010 in Karnataka
• The renewal process is likely to take another 6-8 months for many leases in the state
• Together, the leases awaiting renewal could produce seven-eight million tonnes of iron ore a year

“Under normal circumstances, renewal of mining lease takes up to two years. In our case, as well as many others, the renewal is pending for the past four years. Our mining lease falls in revenue areas and does not involve forest clearance. But it is still pending for renewal,” said Basant Poddar, managing director of MEL.

For its lease for Chitradurga, which falls under revenue areas, MEL has capacity of 320,000 tonnes. “It is only a matter of executing the lease deed; this will not take much time for the government. Once the lease deed is executed, we can start production within 15 days,” Poddar said.

Together, the leases awaiting renewal could produce seven-eight million tonnes of iron ore a year. For the steel sector, recording shortage of raw material, this would be very useful, said an analyst.

The Supreme Court bench, comprising judges Jagdish Singh Khehar, J Chelameswar and A K Sikri, said, “The issue pertaining to the schedule for renewal of mining leases and forest clearance has engaged the attention of this court for some time. The procedure of renewal was sought to be crystallised by an order passed by this court on August 4, 2006. Neither the time frame stated by this court nor the time schedule depicted in the rules have been followed by state functionaries or the central government,” the court said.

“Of the five illustrative cases brought to our notice during the course of hearing, none are stated to have been granted clearance. Some are still pending with the state governments concerned, while two are pending with the Centre. The process of renewal, we may record, came to be initiated by the leaseholders during 2010,” it added. “Though the amicus, A D N Rao, has brought to our notice reasons why no final decision could be taken for renewal of leases and forest clearance, we are of the view that there is no explicit or real justification emerging.” The matter will now be taken up by the court on August 19.