Question : Allocation of Mines

(a) the number of mines allocated during each of the last three years and the number of mines out of the said mines where work has not been started till date along with the reasons therefor, State/UT-wise;
(b) whether a large number of cases pertaining to the mines/mining industries are under consideration in various courts including the Hon''ble Supreme Court in the country, if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to settle these cases at the earliest?

(a) : The State Governments grant mineral concessions for the minerals located within their respective boundaries under the provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and rules made thereunder. This information is not centrally maintained by Ministry of Mines. However, as per information provided by Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), a statement showing number of mining leases granted, number of mining leases executed and number of mining leases wherein work started during last three years and current year is given at Annexure-I.

(b): Details of pending court cases, including the cases in Supreme Court, where the Ministry of Mines is a respondent, are given in the Annexure-II.

(c): The Ministry is taking utmost care in defending the interest of Union of India. Due to the efforts made by the Ministry, the validity of the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015 and the provisions therein have been upheld by the Hon’ble High Court of Madhya Pradesh and by the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad in their judgements dated 11.3.2016 and 11.09.2015 respectively.