National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

should be authorised to grant or renew the ML to the individual lease holder subject to thefulfilment of the conditions stipulated in the ‘in principle’ approval, such as transfer andmutation of non-forest land in favour of the Forest Department, payment for compensatoryafforestation and NPV, and such other stipulations as are normally put in by MOEF beforeconveying the formal (second stage) clearance. This would reduce the procedural steps inobtaining clearances. The state governments can report to the Central government on thecompliance of the conditions mentioned in the ‘in principle’ approval by the user agency. Inother words, the Committee would recommend that the second stage clearance may bedelegated to the state governments. Further, in the case of renewals of existing leases, if theMOEF has already given its approval under FCA, there is no rationale for going through thewhole process again when the lease becomes due for renewal. Unless there are seriousadverse effects on the forest and wildlife or environment in an area or there is violation of theconditions mentioned in the initial letter of approval, the approval of applications for renewalshould be no more than a formality.3.32 When proposals for renewal of MLs are submitted for clearance under the FCA, 1980,the state governments often resort to arbitrary reductions in the lease area without assigningany reasons for the same. The industry has proposed that since factors such as depth of mineand consistency of ore body decide the area required for mining a viable deposit, the areaapplied for mining should not be arbitrarily reduced while according forest clearance or at thetime of renewal of the MLs. The Committee recommends that ad hoc reductions in the areaapplied for renewal under forest clearance be done away with.3.33 Mining being a site-specific activity, diversion of forest land for mining should beconsidered for a longer period of, say, 50–100 years or till the exhaustion of the ore body.The Committee recommends that existing leases should be automatically renewed till the orein the deposit lasts, provided that periodic monitoring reports of the Regional Officers of theMOEF during the lease period indicate compliance with the conditions stipulated duringgrant of the diversion permission. If approval of MOEF is required in the case of renewals,the same should be granted without having to go through the whole process of submitting afresh proposal.3.34 Compensatory afforestation charges are prescribed by the state governments. Thesecharges vary widely across the states, and the criteria for fixing such charges are arbitrary. In86