Miners want in-principle approvals before auctions of mineral blocks

Delay in securing environment & forest clearances slows the pace of auctions

Mining companies want grant of in-principle approval for environment and forestry cle­a­r­ances before auctioning an asset.

“The key reason why auctions have failed to gain mom­entum is the inordinate delay in getting environment clearance (EC) and forest clearance (FC). It takes three to five ye­ars, running through various stages, for grant of mineral concessions. An in-principle approval for statutory cle­ar­ances like EC and FC and land acquisition should be in place before offering the blo­cks for grant, said an industry source.

At the end of May, 64 mineral blocks had been auctioned. Iron ore auctions seem to have hit a