India?s mining laws were enacted in the 1950s and all concerned parties agree that they need overhauling. But what with inter-ministerial wrangling and Centre-state differences, a legislative update has kept getting pushed back. A GoM headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was set up last month to resolve all the cavilling over the draft Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Bill 2010. In its Friday meeting, the GoM considered the proposal to set up a National Mineral Regulation Authority (NMRA). It is proposed that this authority will be armed with substantive prosecution powers. This would be in marked contrast to the current situation where the Indian Bureau of Mines serves as a sector regulator, but a toothless one. It boasts technical expertise at most, while NMRA will reportedly have the powers to grant mining leases, file cases against violators and act against illegal mining. Given the corrupt quagmire into which the sector seems to have sunk, a strong regulator is definitely needed. But we hope this proposal will not be implemented with the snail?s pace at which the new mining legislation has been progressing.
Even the briefest scan of mining scandals over the last few months presents a really worrisome picture. From Jharkhand, we had news of the former CM Madhu Koda clearing 41 files for iron-ore mining in an hour. From Orissa, we heard that over 60% of the mines were operating without statutory central government clearances. From Karnataka, stories continue to pour out about how illegal iron-ore mining is being fed by an overwhelmingly crooked nexus between politicians and the rest of the state machinery. As Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde said recently, from the forest department to the mining department and the road transparent department, from the police to the port authorities, ?vested interests are controlling the whole industry?. Remember, with Karnataka, we are talking about the image degeneration of a state whose exceptional IT and infrastructure success had won it a ?quality? reputation across the globe. This kind of degeneracy is obviously taking a heavy toll beyond state borders as well, as India?s growing economic engine demands increasing amounts of strategic minerals and the global commodity market becomes more and more competitive. So, both the new mining regulator and the new mining Bill need to be pushed through on a fast track. The Bill holds the promise of creating competitive bidding, which will not only help maximise state revenue but also introduce transparent processes that vitiate against illegal mining. The regulator offers the promise of making these processes implementable.