Mineral Foundations to be formed in all districts to expedite devpt

* State Government expects to raise additional development fund of Rs 600 crore through the initiative

Staff Reporter
In accordance with the provisions of Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) and under Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation Act of 2015, Maharashtra Government will set up District Mineral Foundations in all districts with mining activities to use the funds for developmental activities.
A decision in this regard was taken in a meeting held in Mumbai on Thursday. Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, chaired the meeting while Prakash Mehta, Industries and Mining Minister’ Pravin Potey Patil, Minister of State; were present prominently. Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act or MMDR Act of 2015 mandates setting up of District Mineral Foundations in all districts in the country affected by mining-related operations. Accordingly, these will be set up in all districts of Maharashtra with mining activities. 

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis addressing the officials during a meeting on Mineral Policy held on Thursday at Mumbai. Also seen are Prakash Mehta, Industries Minister; Pravin Pardeshi, Principal Secretary to CM; and others.

Central Government has notified the rates of contribution to be made by mining lease holders to the foundations. In case of all mining leases executed before January 12, 2015 or the date of MMDR Act coming into force, the mining lease holders will have to contribute to respective District Mineral Foundations an amount equal to 30 per cent of royalty payable by them on major minerals. In case of mining leases granted after the said date, rate of contribution is set at 10 per cent of royalty payable for minor minerals. The district foundations are expected to use the funds so generated, to implement PMKKKY. The amount to be contributed by mining lease holders will be apart from royalty payable by them to the Government.
According to an officer familiar with the development, State Government expects that an amount of Rs 450 crore in case of major minerals and Rs 150 crore from minor minerals, would be with District Mineral Foundations in Maharashtra. Of an amount of Rs 450 crore expected to be with District Mineral Foundations from major minerals, Rs 175 crore is expected in Chandrapur district alone. The major minerals include Coal, Manganese, Limestone, Bauxite, Iron etc. And, the minor minerals include Sand, Muroom etc.
As per the guidelines for implementation of PMKKKY, the areas where the scheme is to be implemented through respective District Mineral Foundations have been divided into directly affected and indirectly affected areas. The directly affected areas include the ones with direct mining-related operations such as excavation, mining, blasting, beneficiation, and waste disposal. And, the indirectly affected areas are those where local people are affected adversely by economic, social, and environmental impacts of mining-related operations.
As much as 60 per cent of the funds with District Mineral Foundations are expected to be utilised on drinking water supply, environment preservation and pollution control measures, healthcare, education, welfare activities for women and children, skill development, sanitation facilities, etc. And, the remaining 40 per cent is expected to be utilised on construction of physical infrastructure like roads, bridges, railways, waterways; development of alternative sources of irrigation and energy, watershed development, etc.
Manukumar Srivastava, Principal Secretary (Revenue); Sitaram Kunte, Principal Secretary (Finance); Pravin Pardeshi, Principal Secretary to CM; Apurva Chandra, Principal Secretary (Industries); Milind Mhaiskar and Pravin Darade, both Secretaries to CM; R S Kalamkar, Director of Geology and Mining; Nirupama Dange and other officers were present prominently in the meeting. Prashant Jain, Vice-President of JSW; and Nagesh Nallappa, General Manager of Ambuja Cements made presentations on special mining projects.

Coal to be distributed to MSMEs through MSMC The minor, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Maharashtra will now get coal through Maharashtra State Mining Corporation (MSMC). However, keeping in mind the past experience of even the non-existent or bogus entities lifting coal and selling it on premium in the open market, State Government will be strengthening monitoring mechanism. Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, directed the officials of MSMC to maintain transparency. To make the process of coal allotment to MSMEs transparent, Fadnavis asked MSMC to make appropriate use of Geo-positioning System (GPS), Google images, and real-time photographs.

Expedite auction of mining blocks: CM As per the provisions under Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act or MMDR Act of 2015, the Directorate of Geology and Mining had recently termed mining applications for 277 notified areas across Maharashtra as ‘ineligible’. These included a total of 6,413 applications for various notified areas across the State. The number included as many as 3,641 applications for 131 areas in Vidarbha region alone. As per the MMDR Act of 2015, mineral concessions for major minerals will be granted through auction only. The authorities believed that auction process may fetch higher mineral revenue to the State in addition to royalty. However, this also placed responsibility on State Government to increase exploration activity. In the meeting held on Thursday in Mumbai, Chief Minister asked the officials concerned to start the process for auction of new notified areas. Of eight new mines identified, four should be auctioned at the earliest and remaining four by the end of November. 

(08-10-15)