National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

(i) All applications for mineral concessions should be accepted at the stateheadquarters office of the DMG of the state government and not at its districtoffice or at the District Collectorates.(ii) The applications should be sent by the DMG simultaneously to designatedofficers at the district level of all the concerned departments, viz. mining,revenue, forests, Panchayati Raj (rural development), etc., for scrutiny of theproposals in relation to the records and applicable rules for the area for whichthe concession is being sought. Copies of the applications should be sent to theconcerned secretariat departments for information and follow-up. The districtlevelofficers should send their responses to the DMG within a time-boundframework under intimation to their respective secretariat departments. Asagainst the present system in which the applicant applies for environmental andforest clearance after having received the clearance for LAPL/PL or ML, andfor aerial reconnaissance after grant of RP, the applicant should have thepossibility of making all these applications simultaneously, with copy to theDMG.(iii) The state government should set up a Coordination-cum-EmpoweredCommittee at the state level, headed by the Chief Secretary with state-levelrepresentatives from all the concerned Departments (Mining, Forest,Environment, and Revenue, and where necessary, Industry and Panchayati Raj)as members. The Coordination-cum-Empowered Committee should be servicedby the DMG and meet at least once in two months. The main function of theCommittee would be to provide oversight of clearance of the applications byvarious departments and act as a pressure point on the departmentalrepresentative for securing timely clearance. The applicants could also beinformed of their applications being listed for review at a particular meeting,and if they so desire, they could be given the opportunity for furnishingclarifications, where necessary, to the Coordination-cum-EmpoweredCommittee.(iv) The state-level Coordination-cum-Empowered Committee should also bedelegated powers to approve grant of mineral concessions in cases below aspecified area or quantum of mineral deposit for non-Scheduled minerals whenall departmental and statutory clearances have been received. In other cases, the56