The Centre plans to permit sale of 50 per cent of coal/lignite produced by captive blocks, a move aimed at augmenting the production and increasing the availability of dry fuel. The government plans to do so through incorporation of a provision in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR). In the note for consultation of Ministry of Mines, it is proposed to incorporate a provision in the Act to allow sale of 50 per cent of coal/lignite produced by captive mines on an annual basis. Further, an additional amount will be charged on the merchant sales of coal/lignite by the captive miners, the coal ministry said in brief note.
Centre plans to permit sale of 50% coal from captive blocks, invites comments
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Centre plans to permit sale of 50% coal from captive blocks, invites comments
PTI / Feb 21, 2021, 11:41 IST
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NEW DELHI: The Centre plans to permit sale of 50 per cent of coal/lignite produced by captive blocks, a move aimed at augmenting the production and increasing the availability of dry fuel.
The government plans to do so through incorporation of a provision in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR). In the note for consultation of Ministry of Mines, it is proposed to incorporate a provision in the Act to allow sale of 50 per cent of coal/lignite produced by captive mines on an annual basis. Further, an additional amount will be charged on the merchant sales of coal/lignite by the captive miners, the coal ministry said in brief note.
State-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL) neither applied technical due diligence nor conducted techno-commercial study to assess viability before the allotment of its captive coal blocks at Parbatpur and Sitanala, audit report no 18 of 2020 of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG) said today. These two blocks, which had to be subsequently surrendered, hence resulted in the amount spent on development of the same infructuous, examined the audit. The audit released today examined records of all captive mines of SAIL for the period 2014-19 to assess the management of captive mines and compliance with safety and environmental laws. The report pointed out that since the company’s iron ore production level, at Dalli, Rajhara and Barsua mines were lower than planned, it resulted in transfer of the key raw material from distantly located mines by the Bhilai Steel Plant and Rourkela Steel Plant leading to extra expenditure on freight differential.
SC seeks reply from Centre, States on plea against coal blocks auction in densely forest areas
NEW DELHI, Dec 14: The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from Centre and seven states on a plea challenging the decision to allocate/auction coal blocks for commercial mining in densely forested areas.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian issued notice and tagged the matter along with other pending matters related to mining.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for an activist Sudiep Srivastava said that this is a serious issue as the government has itself declared the areas as no go areas.
Supreme Court notice to Centre, states on PIL on coal mining in ecologically-sensitive areas
The Supreme Court has issued notice to various states and the Centre on a PIL filed against mining in dense forests and ecologically sensitive areas of the country.
The petition has also sought framing of guidelines for dealing with forest clearance proposals to avoid clearance in dense-forested areas unless all the other available deposits of the said mineral is exhausted.
The petition has given detail examples of GO NOGO Study of Coal Blocks and Management Plan of Saranda Iron Ore Zone to demonstrate that despite there being sufficient information and reports available which classify less forested or non-ecologically sensitive areas as probable mining areas, the Union is allowing mining in every area where mineral deposits exist. As a result areas where environmental damage would be least due to mining, are not considered and 100% dense forests, which are catchment areas of important ri