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Centre plans to give tribals a share in mining profits


The Centre is planning to give a 26 per cent share in mining profits to tribal people and to set up a regulatory body to check illegal mining, Union Minister of Mines B.K. Handique informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The draft of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill — prepared on the basis of the policy directions set forth in the 2008 National Mineral Policy and the recommendations of the Hooda Committee, and now with a Group of Ministers — was aimed at doing justice to tribal people of areas where mining would be carried out, he said.

Mr. Handique was responding to a supplementary question from Ashwani Kumar of the Congress about steps the government was contemplating to address the alienation of tribal people, and for their relief and rehabilitation.

He said the Bill also had provisions to deal with ecological balance in mining. It would also suggest steps to help the States tackle illegal mining; to discourage and prevent sub-optimal and unscientific mining; to make the regulatory mechanism more conducive to technology and investments; and to provide security of tenure to concessionaires.

Responding to questions on illegal mining by V. Hanumantha Rao of the Congress and Aziz Pasha of the CPI, especially in Bayaram in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Handique said 566.90 sq km of land was reserved, and the State government sought a fresh survey. “If it [the State government] comes back with a proposal, we will examine it.” The government was examining a complaint about land allocation in the area.

Mr. Handique said the proposed National Mining Regulation Authority would have the powers to inspect and detect, investigate and prosecute cases of illegal mining. The Centre would also have the power to terminate the lease, if the State government did not act; the leaseholder would also become ineligible to secure lease in future.

As for iron ore exports, he said that during 2009-10, of the total production of 218 million tonnes, 91 million tonnes was consumed at home, while 117 million tonnes was exported. Nearly 75 per cent of the export variety consisted of iron fine, since the country does not have the technology to produce steel out of it. If this raw material was not exported, it would pile up, creating environmental problems.