THE MINISTER OF MINES AND MINISTER OF DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION (SHRI B.K. HANDIQUE)
(a) to (f): A statement is laid on the table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERED TO IN REPLY TO STARRED QUESTION NO. 321 TO BE ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON
17th AUGUST, 2010 REGARDING MINING ACTIVITIES
(a) & (b): Details of mining leases granted for undertaking mining in respect of major
minerals (excluding coal, atomic, minor minerals) in the States including those with tribal
areas are given in Annexure.
(c) : As per available information, some of the mining companies are contributing towards
peripheral development around the mining areas, e.g. on housing, water supply, medical
facilities, education etc. However, details of contribution of these companies for peripheral
development are not centrally maintained, since the leases are granted by State Governments.
(d) and (e): State Governments grant mineral concessions as the owner of the minerals.
Acquisition of land is also a subject matter of the State Governments. Since the acquisition
is done by State Governments, relief and rehabilitations in such cases is as per the Relief
& Rehabilitation Policy of the State Government concerned. However, recognizing the fact that
the existing Mines and Minerals(Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 does not have adequate
provisions to address the concerns of tribal people and other host population, Ministry of
Mines is in the process of drafting a new law, which will better address issues relating to
sharing of profits from mining operations and having a say with regard to mining activities.
Several options in this regard are under consideration.
(f) : The National Mineral Policy, 2008, enunciates optimum utilization of resources, developing and enforcing a framework of sustainable development that ensures that mining activity takes place alongwith suitable measures for restoration of the ecological balance particularly in tribal and forest areas, and developing models of stakeholders interest based on international best practices and ensuring orderly and systematic mine closure to enable rehabilitation.
As per provisions of the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 1988, all mining lease
holders are required to prepare a Mine Closure Plan and submit financial guarantee for this
purpose. The Government has also commenced preparation of a draft Sustainable Development
Framework for ensuring sustainable mining in line with the direction contained in the National
Mineral Policy, which will take into account the concerns of all stakeholders, particularly the
tribals. The framework will be implemented through executive instructions and will be given
statutory basis under the new law.
ANNEXURE MENTIONED IN STATEMENT TO STARRED QUESTION NO. 321 TO BE ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON
17th AUGUST, 2010 REGARDING MINING ACTIVITIES
STATE WISE DISTRIBUTION OF MINING LEASES GRANTED FOR UNDERTAKING MINING (EXCLUDING COAL, ATOMIC
AND MINOR MINERALS)
Sl.
No. State No. of Leases Lease area (Hect.)
1 ANDHRA PRADESH 1578 54470.79
2 ASSAM 8 929.50
3 BIHAR 10 2030.16
4 CHHATTISGARH 312 17650.66
5 GOA 422 31457.43
6 GUJARAT 1228 27962.54
7 HIMACHAL PRADESH 54 2027.18
8 HARYANA 108 11471.52
9 JAMMU & KASHMIR 55 1814.75
10 JHARKHAND 323 36974.67
11 KARNATAKA 693 57398.26
12 KERALA 109 3042.12
13 MANIPUR 2 610.17
14 MEGHALAYA 19 1433.97
15 MADHYA PRADESH 948 28442.41
16 MAHARASHTRA 280 17703.21
17 ORISSA 387 67212.90
18 RAJASTHAN 2168 106848.85
19 SIKKIM 3 96.30
20 TAMIL NADU 482 6652.01
21 UTTAR PRADESH 88 9290.11
22 UTTARANCHAL 69 3077.78
23 WEST BENGAL 70 4090.10 sum 9416 492687.39
