National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

Central Government in the Ministry of Mines. However, in the case of forestry, all proposalsrequire clearance from the MOEF (upto 40 hectares from the Regional Chief Conservators ofForest of MOEF stationed at Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Shillong, Lucknow,Chandigarh, and Ranchi, and above 40 hectares directly from the MOEF at New Delhi). It is,therefore, suggested that, in pursuance of the single window clearance recommended inChapter 2, the Coordination-cum-Empowered Committee of the state governments in the caseof non-Schedule I minerals and the Coordination-cum-Empowered Committee at the Centrein the case of Schedule I minerals should be the final authority to grant or recommendclearance under the FCA. The Committees should have a representative from the MOEF asmember, who should be responsible for conveying the views of the MOEF to the EmpoweredCommittees. These views will be binding on these Committees. Once the clearance for anarea is communicated to the Coordination-cum-Empowered Committees by therepresentative of MOEF, the Coordination-cum-Empowered Committees can take a view onthe application. In this way, the State Mines Department can grant leases or renewals inmineral bearing areas in forest lands, and such leases or renewals will include the clearanceunder FCA. This procedure will cut down delays drastically by incorporating the MOEF’sFCA clearance 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 clearances internallyand only the final view may be brought to the Coordination-cum-Empowered Committee.The High Level Committee would recommend that the regional offices of MOEF convey theviews of MOEF to the Coordination-cum-Empowered Committees in the states as proposedabove so that the State Coordination-cum-Empowered Committees can take decisionsexpeditiously. An important difference between this and the current dispensation will be thatunlike at present, the processing of an application for obtaining clearance under the FCA canstart simultaneously with the processing of the lease application, and the application underFCA does not have to wait till the ML is granted.3.31 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 non-forest landfor compensatory afforestation. After the receipt of the compliance report from the stategovernment in respect of these conditions, the second stage (formal) clearance is granted byMOEF. The Committee would suggest that once ‘in principle’ approval is obtained from theMOEF it should not be necessary to go to the MOEF again and the State Mines Department85