Question : National Mineral Exploration Trust

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

(a) whether National Mineral Exploration Trust has been set up to promote non-coal minerals and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether all States/UTs have set up District Mineral foundations in pursuance of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 and if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken to monitor implementation of various provisions of the said act?

Answer given by the minister

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINES (SHRI HARIBHAI PARTHIBHAI CHAUDHARY)

(a): In pursuance of section 9C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Amendment Act 2015, the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) was set up vide gazette notification No. G.S.R. 633(E) dated 14.8.2015 and the National Mineral Exploration Trust Rules 2015 were also notified vide Gazette Notification No. G.S.R. 632 (E) dated 14.8.2015, with the prime objective of promoting mineral exploration in the country. The MMDR Amendment Act prescribes payment to the NMET, a sum equivalent to 2% of the royalty paid in terms of the minerals listed in the Second Schedule.

(b): As per the information made available by the 12 major minerals rich States namely Goa, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, District Mineral Foundation (DMF) rules have been framed and DMF has been set up in 338 districts of these States. The details in this regard are at Annexure.

(c): The Ministry has notified rules under the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015 which are being implemented both by the central agencies i.e. Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), a sub-ordinate office under the administrative control of Ministry of Mines, and State Government agencies.

The Ministry of Mines also conducts various meetings with the State Government Officials from time to time to ensure proper implementation of the provisions of the Act. The Ministry of Mines interacts with the State Government on the difficulties being faced by them and provides the handholding support to them in the form of directions, guidelines, clarifications, circular and amendment, as required.


Apart from the above, a “Star Rating” system has been instituted to recognise the efforts and initiatives taken for undertaking sustainable mining, which is based on self assessment by the lessees. This has been made a statutory requirement under rule 35 of the Mineral Conservation Development Rules, 2017, which mandates that all working mines of major minerals require to have at least 4 star rating.

The Ministry of Mines, through IBM, has developed the Mining Surveillance System (MSS), a satellite based monitoring system which aims to check illegal mining activity through automatic remote sensing detection technology in order to establish a regime of responsive mineral administration. The system records activity outside the lease boundary and generates a trigger for action on part of the State Governments to investigate encroachment or illegal mining and take necessary action. MSS has been made functional throughout the country for major minerals. Ministry of Mines has requested the State Governments to extend MSS for minor minerals also.


ANNEXURE
District Mineral Foundation Figures for 12 Major Mineral Rich States (source: State Governments)

(Figures in Rs. Crores)
S.
No State State Governments informed on DMF figures as on Whether rules for DMF notified Total Districts Total Number of districts in which DMF has been set up Date of setting up of DMF Total amount collected under DMF in respect of Coal & Lignite Total amount collected under DMF in respect of Minor Minerals Total amount collected under DMF in respect of Major Minerals (Other than Coal & Lignite ) Total amount collected under DMF

For Major Minerals For Minor Minerals For Major Minerals For Minor Minerals
1 Andhra Pradesh 07.12.2017 30.11.2017 Yes Yes 13 13 27.06.2015 27.06.2015 0 165 157 322
2 Chhattisgarh 07.12.2017 30.11.2017 Yes Yes 27 27 22.12.2015 02.01.2016 1450 59 822 2331
3 Goa 08.12.2017 30.11.2017 Yes N/A 2 2 30.04.2015 N/A N/A Nil 140 140
4 Gujarat 07.12.2017 30.11.2017 Yes Yes 33 32 01.04.2016 01.04.2016 50 72 122 244
5 Jharkhand 18.11.2017 30.11.2017 Yes Yes 24 24 23.03.2016 13.01.2017 1904 25 385 2314
6 Karnataka 14.11.2017 30.11.2017 Yes Yes 31 31 11.01.2016 12.08.2016 608
7 Maharashtra 16.11.2017 30.11.2017 Yes Yes 36 35 01.09.2016 01.09.2016 304 87 96 487
8 Madhya Pradesh 07.12.2017 30.11.2017 Yes N/A 51 51 15.05.2015 N/A 1223 Nil 226 1449
9 Odisha 03.11.2017 30.10.2017 Yes Yes 30 30 18.08.2015 18.08.2015 1295 26 2227 3548
10 Rajasthan 08.12.2017 30.11.2017 Yes Yes 33 33 31.05.2016 31.05.2016 1235
11 Telangana 16.11.2017 30.11.2017 Yes Yes 31 30 20.01.2016 20.01.2016 328 167 108 603
12 Tamilnadu 14.11.2017 30.11.2017 Yes Yes 32 30 19.05.2017 19.05.2017 40 13 64 117
Total 343 338 6594 701 4826 13398

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