Friday July 2, 2010
The high-level panel headed by Pranab Mukherjee Finance Minister, is scheduled to meet on 22nd July, to sort out the interministerial difference over the proposed mining legislation, a top Mines Ministry official said on Friday.
Mines Secretary Santha Sheela Nair told reporters, “The Group of Ministers on the proposed legislation will meet on 22nd July.” Last month, in the proposed mining act, the government had formed a 10-member Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Mukherjee to resolve certain issues among different ministries.
Beside Mukherjee, the Group of Ministers includes Environment Ministers Jairam Ramesh, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Tribal Affairs Minister Kantilal Bhuria, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, Mines Minister BK Handique, Law Minister Veerappa Moily, Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram.
The Mines Ministry has sent the proposed Bill to the Group on Ministers, which will look after many issues including power for granting mining leases, conservation of minerals, and reservation of mineral-bearing areas for PSUs among others. Nair said, “After the GoM’s deliberations, the bill will be sent to the Cabinet for its approval and then the Parliament.”
In discussion differences between Mining and Steel ministries among the various inter-ministerial issues is likely to figure. Virbhadra Singh recently wrote to the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to restrict some shipments and increase the domestic availability of iron ore, this was opposed by the ministry of Mines.
200 million tonne is the domestic output of iron ore, out of which half is exported. A Mines Ministry official said, the Mines Ministry is, however, of the opinion that the Law Ministry had made “reference to the case but has not made any specific suggestion.”
