Majority of the PAC members decline to sign it The fate of the report of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Goa Assembly headed by the Leader of the Opposition Manohar Parrikar (BJP), which has reportedly indicted the government agencies and blamed the nexus of politicians in power and bureaucrats for illegal mining, will be decided by Speaker Pratapsinh Rane on Friday, the last day of the brief session of...

-The Indian Express   The Union cabinet has approved a draft of the new Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) bill, which has long been expected to replace the antiquated legislation that partly governs the mining sector. There are important issues that still need to be worked out: implementing the bill in its current form would be severely problematic, and there are several loopholes that might cause the effect of the...

-The Hindu   A robust new law to regulate mining in India is overdue. The proposed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011 is the central government's response to a full-blown crisis in the sector. There are several serious issues that the legislation promises to address, such as sharing of profits with project-affected people, environmental sustainability, competitive bidding to improve returns to States, and transparency in grant of permits. A major...

The 12th Plan Approach Paper looks upon land more as raw material for mining and industrialisation than as a source of livelihood for the poor. DESPITE a fast economic growth, more than 60 per cent of the population of India is still dependent on land. The 12th Plan Approach Paper, however, looks upon land not as a source of livelihood for the poor but as raw material for mining and industrialisation....

The Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Bill, 2011 approved by the Union Cabinet on Friday aims to ensure transparency, equity, elimination of discretion, effective redress and regulatory mechanisms along with incentives encouraging good mining practices, which will lead to technology absorption and exploitation of deep seated minerals. The menace of illegal mining in Karnataka and Goa continues unabated despite strong outrage against it. As many as 82,000 cases were...