National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

MOEF at New Delhi). It is, therefore, suggested that, in pursuance of the singlewindow clearance recommended in Chapter 2, the Coordination-cum-EmpoweredCommittee of the state governments in the case of non-Schedule I minerals and theCoordination-cum-Empowered Committee at the Centre in the case of Schedule Iminerals should be the final authority to grant/recommend clearance under the FCA.The Committees should have a representative from the MOEF as its member whoshould be responsible for conveying the views of the department/MOEF to theCoordination-cum-Empowered Committee. These views will be binding on theseCommittees. Once the clearance for an area is communicated to the Coordinationcum-EmpoweredCommittees by the representative of MOEF, the Coordination-cum-Empowered Committees can take a view on the application. In this way, the StateMines Department can grant leases or renewals in mineral bearing areas in forestlands, and such leases or renewals will include the clearance under FCA. Thisprocedure will cut down delays drastically by incorporating the MOEF’s FCAclearance within the single window system without in any way impinging on the rightof MOEF to be the final arbiter. The MOEF may continue to get FCA clearancesinternally and only the final view may be brought to the Coordination-cum-Empowered Committee. The High Level Committee would recommend that theregional offices of MOEF convey the views of MOEF to the Coordination-cum-Empowered Committees in the states as proposed above so that the stateCoordination-cum-Empowered Committees can take decisions expeditiously. Animportant difference between this and the current dispensation will be that unlike atpresent, the processing of an application for obtaining clearance under the FCA canstart simultaneously with the processing of the lease application, and the applicationunder FCA does not have to wait till the ML is granted. [3.30]• Currently forest clearances are accorded in two stages. In the first stage, ‘in principle’approval is accorded, which usually covers conditions relating to transfer, mutation,declaration as reserved/protected forest (RF/PF), and provision of equivalent nonforestland for compensatory afforestation. After the receipt of the compliance reportfrom the state government in respect of these conditions, the second stage (formal)clearance is granted by MOEF. The Committee would suggest that once ‘in principle’approval is obtained from the MOEF it should not be necessary to go to the MOEF205