Mines Ministry under fire over untimely lease

NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary panel has slammed the Mines Ministry for its inability to ensure timely disposal of mining lease applications which could hamper mineral exploration in the country.

"The Committee feel that the Ministry cannot absolve itself from the responsibilities of timely disposal of mining lease application under the pretext that the issue is being reviewed by the high level committee of the Planning Commission," the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal and Steel observed in its latest report.

The panel was anguished to note that 204 cases of grant of mining lease had been pending with state governments of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh as on March 31 last year and the figure might increase further with the availability of information from other states, the report pointed out.

It expressed serious apprehension that the malaise of illegal mining would continue to raise its ugly head and the very purpose of streamlining the procedure of grant of mining lease would be defeated if the cases of grant of mining lease are not disposed of quickly.

"The Committee need not emphasise that timely disposal of mining lease application is in the overall interest of mineral exploration and any delay in this regard could be interpreted as encouragement to the menace of illegal mining," the panel observed.

The Committee, therefore, reiterated that the Ministry should take urgent steps to streamline the procedures as to minimise the delay in the grant of mining lease, the report said.