Mining licence to Mittal: Centre seeks clarity

The Centre has sought certain clarifications from Jharkhand on its recommendation to grant iron ore mining licence to ArcelorMittal, a move that will further delay the steel giant's Rs 50,000-crore (Rs 500 billion) proposed steel plant in the mineral-rich state.

"Yes, we have sought some clarifications from Jharkhand on one of its recommendations for granting prospecting licence to ArcelorMittal for mining in the state," Union mines secretary Santha Sheela Nair told PTI.

Jharkhand had sent two recommendations for allotment of prospecting licence to the world's largest steelmaker in West Singhbhum district on December 31, 2009. An official in the ministry said, out of the two proposals, one mining plan on 416.93 hectare falls under an area which is legally not cleared for mining.

"The second recommendation falls under the denotified land," the official added. The Union mines ministry is still vetting another proposal of granting prospecting licence to the steel major over 662.95 hectares in the region.

The Centre has written to the state seeking some clarifications on the latest proposal last week. This is the second time that the Centre returned mining recommendations by Jharkhand to ArcelorMittal.

In 2008, the ministry had returned a recommendation by the state for granting prospecting lease to the NRI billionaire LN Mittal-led steel major over an area of about 1,100 hectares in West Singhbhum district with some regulatory queries.

When contacted, however, Jharkhand mines and industries secretary NN Sinha said, "we have not received any objection from the Centre so far. We will comment on the issue only after we get any letter."

The world's largest steelmaker had entered into a pact with Jharkhand way back in 2005 for setting up a 12-million tonne per annum (mtpa) steel plant at an estimated cost of Rs 50,000 crore but has been facing inordinate delays in land acquisition and regulatory hurdles to launch the venture.

Faced with opposition from villagers from the Khunti, Gumla areas, where the plant was proposed earlier, the global steel giant is making efforts to acquire land at Petarwar in Bokaro district of the state. The entire project requires around 8,000 acres.

Amid such bottlenecks in Jharkhand, the company has also entered into a pact with Karnataka to set up a steel plant. With the threat of losing the mega investment, Jharkhand is working to expedite regulatory process for ArcelorMittal's proposed plan.

The London-based NRI billionaire LN Mittal, who heads the steel giant, had last month said the company was "anxious" to start work on its proposed greenfield projects in the country, which entail an estimated investment of Rs 1.30 lakh crore.