Govt to finalise new mining bill soon

Amid UPA Chief Sonia Gandhi voicing concern over land acquisition norms, a Group of Ministers (GoM) will meet this week to take a view on the new mining bill, which seeks that miners share 26 per cent of profits with those affected by the project.

The GoM will meet on September 17 and is likely to take a final decision on the bill. The Mines Ministry plans to introduce the bill in the winter session of Parliament to replace the Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation Act, 1957.

The draft bill which has undergone several changes would again come for the ministers' review.

"The GoM is going to meet on September 17. On approval by the GoM, we will introduce the bill in the Winter session of Parliament," Mines Secretary Subramanyam Vijay Kumar told PTI.

Last week, Gandhi favoured the Haryana model for land acquisition. In the state, farmers are not only offered lucrative compensation, but also annuity for 33 years.

While the GoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, has almost made up its mind to mandate the mining companies to share 26 per cent of profit with the local people, the proposal may get the final shape in the forthcoming meeting. The meeting would also try to resolve differences among members over the way profits would be shared.

The Mines Ministry has proposed that a fund -- District Mineral Foundation -- be created and the beneficiaries be paid out from it. Besides, in case of a mine being non-functional or in losses, the Ministry proposed that the firms compensate the people affected by land acquisition, by paying them amount equal to the royalty given to state governments.

The royalty paid by mining companies to state governments runs into crores of rupees. In the earlier draft of Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation Act, 2010 (MMDRA), the provision was made for companies to either share 26 per cent equity or profits with the locals and tribals.

However, the equity sharing proviso was opposed fiercely by the industry, especially the lobby group FICCI. Besides Mukherjee, the GoM includes Home Minister P Chidambaram, Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, Law Minister V Moily, Mines Minister B K Handique, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, Tribal Affairs Minister K Bhuria, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.

The GoM, constituted in June to examine the Bill met twice on July 20 and July 30. The new Bill seeks to expedite grant of mineral concessions in an expeditious and transparent manner, besides attracting investments in the sector, an official said.