The ministry of mines has expressed its dissatisfaction on the working of the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the main regulator in the mining sector, and has called for a more proactive approach to deal with violators in the sector.
According to sources, the government favours IBM to divide inspection of mine into procedural aspects?environmental aspects and checking of violations in mining activity. In the context, IBM needs to effectively position itself as a regulator, which can investigate violations in reconnaissance permits (RP) and prospecting license (PL), they added. The government is also in favour of taking severe action, as permissible under the law, against habitual offenders.
However, IBM controller general C S Gundewar said the impediments to proper functioning of the bureau stemmed from illegal mining, which is beyond its ambit, and the dependence on state machinery for upholding penal provisions.
?The problem is that given our current staff strength, we can inspect mines only once a year and prosecution can happen only after a series of steps at a later stage,? Gundewar said.
Till December 2007 IBM had investigated 1,505 violations in respect of 764 mines of which 1,016 have been rectified. Prosecutions for violation of conditions of mining lease were launched in 22 cases. However, only one mining lease holder was convicted by the court and was fined Rs 5,000.
In 2006 the ministry entrusted IBM with timely acquisition, dissemination and monitoring of data concerning RP/PL. However, IBM has started monitoring RPs only from 2008.
Information regarding different inspection is now being sent to the ministry on quarterly basis. In some cases RP holders were summoned for filling up several gaps in information in the returns and reports.