Govt may take ordinance route for mines sector reforms

After coal and insurance reforms, government may take the ordinance route soon to pave the way for auction of iron ore and other minerals as the proposed amendments to the MMRDA Act have been pending since long.

The mining sector, one of the chosen segments for the ambitious 'Make in India' programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is governed by the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

"The Cabinet note seeking promulgation of ordinance for bringing in the changes has been readied. We will seek the nod of the Cabinet soon," said a source in the Mines Ministry.

"In between the existing Act and the new Bill, we are not in a position to allocate mines. There are a large number of closed mines. In the absence of a set of guidelines, we are not able to take decisions. The ordinance will pave the way for decision-making," the source added.

The sector is reeling under several issues like mining ban for the past few years and the previous UPA government had brought in a Bill in 2011 to amend the Act. But the Bill got lapsed with the dissolution of the previous Lok Sabha.

The new government later prepared a draft amendment Bill and put in public domain for comments from all stakeholders. Subsequently, the mines ministry has readied a new Bill with a few changes from the earlier version. The Mines Ministry is now considering moving a proposal to the Cabinet to adopt the ordinance route as winter session of Parliament is over.

The Bill sought to introduce competitive bidding through the auction route for iron ore and other minerals. It also focuses on attracting private investment and latest technology and eliminating delay in administration.

Though there would be some changes from the draft MMDR Bill, the provisions for the auction route for allocation of mines and creation of District Mineral Fund for the welfare of the project-affected people would remain.

The Ordinance may provide for greater decentralisation of power to states for allocation of resources.

After the government promulgating ordinances to implement coal and insurance reforms, the Mines Ministry is hoping that the Cabinet would take the same route for the mines sector as well.