(a) the number of public vis-à-vis private sector companies working in the field of Bauxite mining separately;
(b) whether the Government charges any fees/taxes from private sector companies from time to time for mining operations etc.; and
(c) if so, the average amount of such fees/taxes being collected every year and the impact of said companies on environment?
THE MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) MINES, COAL, NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY AND POWER (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a): There are total 77 mining companies working in the field of bauxite mining in the country out of which 4 are in the public sector and remaining 73 are in the private sector.
(b) & (c): State Governments are empowered to identify/notify grant of mineral concession and administer the same as per the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act, 1957 and rules framed thereunder. As per the provision of MMDR Act 1957, the holder of a Mining Lease (ML) is liable to pay royalty at the rate prescribed in the Second Schedule of the said Act. The royalty is collected and appropriated by the State Governments. Further the holder of the mining lease is also liable to pay contribution to the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) at the rate of 30% of the royalty if the Mining Lease (ML) has been granted before 12.01.2015 and 10% of royalty if the ML has been granted on or after 12.01.2015. This contribution to DMF is also collected by the State Government and deposited in the DMF of the district concerned. Apart from these levies, the said Act also prescribes payment of the amount equal to 2% of royalty as contribution to the National
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Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) into a designated bank account for promoting regional and detailed mineral exploration in the country. All the accruals/revenues from lease holders are collected and appropriated by the State Government concerned during the lease period of a mining block and are not maintained centrally. However, as per information received from eleven mineral rich states namely Goa, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra an amount of Rs. 5817.43 crores has been collected under DMF as on 31/12/2016. The amount of Rs. 658.68 crore has been collected as contribution to NMET as on 31/3/2017.
With regard to impact of Mining on environment, the holder of a Mining Lease (ML) is required to obtain an environmental clearance before commencement of mining work under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and rules made thereunder. The environmental clearance stipulates an annual level of production of mineral which ensures environmental sustainability.
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