Centre Plans Big Ticket Mining Reforms For Post-Lockdown Economy Takeoff

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Bhubaneswar: With twin crisis of employment and revenue generation looming large post-lockdown, the Central Government has started initiating moves to bring in major reforms in mining sector.

In a bid to help the State Governments go for auction of non-operational mines, the Ministry of Mines is planning to do away with Sections 10A (2b and 2c) of the Mines and Minerals Development Regulation (MMDR) Act. It will also facilitate the PSUs to get back those mines lying idle for more than three years.

While Section 10A (2) (b) allows an entity to acquire mining lease allotted prior to auction regime without any sunset clause, 10A (2) (c) gives permission to get the environment and forest clearance within two years of the auction of mines. At present, About 600 mines are stuck under these two provisions of the MMDR Act.

According to sources in the Ministry, the reforms also include simplification of royalty calculation which will exclude taxes and levies. Besides, levy of the stamp duty will be staggered instead of the entire lease period of 50 years.

There is another proposal to redefine illegal mining under the MMDR Act for the benefit of the mining stakeholders. In 2017, the Odisha Government imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 crore on Coal India for violation of environment/forest clearance. The amendment will clarify that mining within the lease area cannot be illegal under Section 21 (5) of the MMDR Act.

In another move, the Mines Ministry plans early termination of captive leases from 2030 to 2025 and auction such mines without first right of refusal. Seamless transfer of mines whether auctioned or allotted by the government is also another suggestion. As per the Act, only auctioned mines can be transferred while a transfer charge amounting to 80 per cent royalty is levied for non-captive mines. Similar reforms for aluminum and coal sectors are also under serious consideration of the Ministry.

With major crisis of employment generation looming before the Government post-lockdown, the Ministry aims at doubling the job figure from the present one crore to two crore and even GDP contribution from Rs 4.1 lakh crore to Rs 8 lakh crore by 2024.