The state government is likely to file a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court on October 29 Challenging the judgement of the Orissa High Court to set aside recommendation of prospecting license (PL) in favour of Posco . As per section 11 (5) of Mining and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, the state government will urge the Apex court to lease out Khandadhar mines on the basis of...
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Coal mining in Meghalaya: Child labourers in the ‘rat-holes’ by Anjuman Ara Begum
“Inside the mine everything is very fragile. Even the falling of a small rock can cause death sometimes. People from outside cannot imagine what the hell is inside the mine!” These are the words of 16-year old Muzzammal Haque who works in a coal mine in the Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. He is yet another example of the bonded child labour in the various coal mines in the Jaintia Hills on...
More »Jairam orders review of Sindhudurg mine leases by Viju B
Union minister of environment and forest Jairam Ramesh has asked Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan to review the 49 Mining leases given for excavation of iron ore and bauxite in Sindhudurg region. The move follows a TOI expose on the state government`s decision to approve the leases in the eco-sensitive district of Konkan Maharashtra. Ramesh`s letter to the chief minister, which attached a series of news reports that appeared in TOI...
More »Minimum land regulation for lease in draft mining Bill spells trouble for Himachal by Hemlata Verma
Himachal Pradesh has expressed reservation over the provision of ‘minimum five hectares of land for granting Mining lease’ under the proposed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill that has already got the nod of Group of Ministers. The existing Act, which will be replaced, did not have any such regulation. The government has already represented to the Centre that such large tracts of land for mining activities in Himachal, where...
More »Brake on development by BG Verghese
The minister for environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh’s order stopping Vedanta Aluminum Ltd and the Orissa Mining Corporation from mining bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills to feed the company’s adjacent Lanjigarh aluminum refinery plant located in one of the country’s poorest districts in the name of tribal interest tends to miss the wood for the trees. It is based on the report of a four-member expert group under N C...
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