Ranchi, Jan. 22: The state government has started the process of cancelling leases of non-captive iron ore mines in West Singhbhum district after having concluded that these did not qualify for extensions under the new MMDR Amendment Act- 2015.
"We have decided to cancel the leases of 18 non-captive mines. The orders would be issued today and uploaded on the website of the mines department," mines & geology department principal secretary Santosh Kumar Satpathy told The Telegraph. "The decisions have been taken keeping in mind all aspects of the new MMDR (Mines & Mineral Development & Regulation) Amendment Act-2015, Shah Commission reports and suggestions and other legal issues."
The 18 mines, whose leases were cancelled, belonged to General Produce Company (2), Singhbhum Minerals Company (2), Messers Kamaljeet Singh Ahluwalia (2), Devka Bhai Bhelji (2), Nirmal Kumar Pradeep Kumar (NKPK, 2), and one each of Rameshwar Jute Mill, Chandra Prakash Sharda, Shriram Minerals, M.L. Jain & Sons, P.K. Jain, K. Arjun Rathore, Leeladhar Khattar and Mcdill & Company.
In all, 21 non-captive mines were under the government's scanner. A decision on the remaining three mines, belonging to Messers Shah Brothers, Anil Kumar Khirwal and P.K. Jain, is pending as the cases had been referred to the advocate general's office for certain legal clarifications.
As per the MMDR Amendment Act-2015, second and subsequent renewals (of mine leases) were illegal. However, under certain conditions there was a provision to renew the old leases till 2020, provided all the terms and conditions of mining were fulfilled.
In the case of the 18 mines, various state government committees concluded that none of them fulfilled those conditions. Hence, their leases were cancelled.
Satpathy said they would upload details of the lease cancellations on the mines department website. "We have taken water-tight views. If the companies go to court, their plea is not likely to be heard as they have violated several norms," he claimed.
The mines department had showcaused 21 lessees in June last year for a range of violations, from pending lease renewals to bad maintenance to unpaid royalty dues. Mining in most of the sites had stopped in September 2014 following changes in the MMDR Act.
The department is now expected to e-auction leases for the mining areas, situated primarily in Saranda, Karampada and the Ghatkuri areas of Kolhan commissionary.
