Union cabinet likely to consider MMDR Bill 2011 today

30 Sep 2011 Evaluate

The Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) (MMDR) Bill 2011, which seeks to make compulsory sharing of miners profit and creating a watchdog to regulate the sector’s overall growth, will be put before the Union Cabinet for its approval on September 30.

After getting approval from cabinet, MMDR bill 2011 is expected to be tabled in the coming winter session of the Parliament. Earlier the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, gave its approval to the MMDR bill 2011. The proposed bill also seeks to create a system for time-bound allocation of mineral concessions and setting up of the National Mineral Regulatory Authority (NMRA), mining tribunals that would be empowered to issue guidelines for improvement of the mining sector.

The mines ministry is pushing for the early passage of the bill to help the central and state government to regulate the mining sector, which has been in light for the illegal mining in iron ore rich state Karnataka. The ministry is hopeful that the proposed bill will help central and state governments to monitor utilization of the concessions given to various lease-holders and stop over-exploitation of mineral resources. The mining ministry is of the view that in the absence of a mechanism to determine mining profit, there is no merit in asking miners to share 26% of their net profit, the ministry’s view is backed by the GoM.

The mining ministry has recommended that it was better to ask them to share 26% of the total royalty paid to the states, the Mines Minister Dinsha Patel had said that 56 mineral-rich districts of the country would together get Rs 7,000-8,000 crore through this exercise.

Mines minister also said the money accruing from this profit-sharing mechanism would go towards uplift people living in the mining areas from poverty. ‘I also feel that once people start living a better life, they would themselves oppose the illegal mining menace. This, they would do for their own good as no one would like to be identified with this issue.’ The bill also seeks to create a special court to dispose off cases pertaining to illegal mining quickly. The MMDR bill does not favor resaving mining areas for the PSU unless it was imperative to do so. 

© 2025 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×