Union steel minister and Rajasthan govt discuss steps to expedite auction of 62 mine blocks

KOLKATA: Union steel minister discussed steps to expedite auction of 62 mine blocks in the state with the Rajasthan government. He also urged the government to move process of notification of mine blocks in the state. At a meeting in Jaipur, union minister Narendra Singh Tomar deliberated on issues related to development of steel and mines sector in the state with chief minister Vasundhara Raje and handed over detailed exploration report of 28 blocks to the CM. The reports, which include base metals, gold and phosphorite prepared by MECL, were prepared by Ministry of Mines at a cost of about Rs 60 crore.
Incidentally, the state government has identified more than 30 blocks for auction of mining (ML) and prospecting lease (PL) ML & PL-cum-ML, including those for limestone, manganese, potash and iron ore. Recently, ministry has taken a decision to supply promotional exploration reports of MECL to state governments. With these additional inputs, government of Rajasthan has some 62 potential mine blocks for auction of which 38 blocks are ready for auction of ML and 24 blocks for auction of PL-cum-ML. During the meeting, Raje apprised the union minister about the state’s preparedness for conducting the auctions and related activities like exploration and setting up of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) under the part of the new mining laws under the amended MMDR Act. She sought support from central government in according environment clearances to mining proposals to safeguard jobs and livelihood of mine-workers.