(a) the details of registered and unregistered mines operating in the country at present, State/UT-wise;
(b) the details of reported cases of illegal mining and estimated total revenue loss therefrom during each of the last three years, State/UT-wise; and
(c) the corrective steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to check the illegal mining in the country?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINES AND STEEL (SHRI VISHNU DEO SAI)
(a) : Rule 45 of the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 1988 provides for a requirement of registration with the Indian Bureau of Mines. According to the information received from the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) out of the total 9830 leases in the country, registration has been granted in respect of 8706 leases. The state-wise details are at Annexure-I.
(b) : State Governments are empowered, under Section 23C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act, 1957) to make rules for prevention of illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals; and, therefore, matters relating to illegal mining come under the legislative and administrative jurisdiction of State Governments.
However, based on the quarterly returns on illegal mining submitted by various State Governments to IBM, the total cases of illegal mining in the country reported from year 2012-13 to 2015-16 (Quarter ending September, 2015) is provided in Annexure-II. The details on estimated total revenue loss are not maintained centrally.
(c) : The MMDR Act, 1957 was amended through the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015 which came into effect from 12th January, 2015. The Amendment Act has, inter alia, stringent punitive provisions for combating illegal mining. Illegal mining has been made punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees per hectare of the area. Provisions have been made for setting up of Special Courts for the purpose of providing speedy trial of offences relating to illegal mining.