The Hindu : New Delhi News : States seek rethink on mineral policy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

States seek rethink on mineral policy

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Chief Ministers of five mineral-based States on Saturday demanded a rethink on the New Mineral Policy while charging that the document, in its current form, favoured foreign direct investment and multinational mining companies by promoting liberal export of minerals.

Stating that the rights of the mineral-based States should not be “usurped” by the Union government, the Chief Ministers sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention to safeguard their interests.

In a joint memorandum to Dr. Singh, they said: “The State’s right to select the best applicants [for mining rights] should not be compromised in the name of seamless transition or security of tenure and should not be usurped by the Centre under any pretext.”

The five States urged the Prime Minister to set up a task force to look into the issues raised by them before the Minerals and Metals Development & Regulation Act is taken up for amendment.

Signatories to the joint memorandum on mineral issues, following a meeting here, were the Chief Ministers of four States ruled by the BJP and its allies, namely, Shivraj Singh Chauhan of Madhya Pradesh, Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan, Naveen Patnaik of Orissa, and Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh. Chief Minister Madhu Koda of Jharkhand, the only State under UPA rule, was represented by Water Resources Minister K.K. Singh.

“The Government of India is anxious to promote free export of minerals in order to satisfy multinational mining companies...If the policy is accepted as it is, it may result in a situation where a few MNC mining companies acquire control over the vast mineral resources...,” the memorandum said, while criticising the various policy provisions.

“Since minerals are our national wealth, this approach of the government of leaving exploration in private hands is certainly not in the national interest,” it said.

‘Raw deal’

The memorandum noted that the State-owned mining PSUs had been given a raw deal in that the new policy favoured reserved ore bodies for state agencies only in such areas which had no applications from private players for any exploration.

“On the other hand, public sector could have been utilised for procuring best technology available in the world. In any case, reservation for state mining PSUs should be continued...,” the Chief Ministers said.

In this regard, they pointed out that institutions like the Geological Survey of India should be strengthened and adequately funded since there was no dearth of foreign exchange.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi