Mines minister Parlhad Joshi on Wednesday handed over 100 basic G4 level explored mineral blocks containing metallic, fertiliser and other variant of minerals to 14 states and asked them to expedite auctioning of these blocks to ensure higher production.
In the auction process of these blocks, the winner will get a composite licence which essentially means a prospecting licence-cum-mining lease. This is a two-stage concession granted for the purpose of undertaking prospecting operations followed by mining operations in a seamless manner.
Mineral auction rules amended in June this year empowered the Centre to conduct auction in such blocks where the state governments face challenges or fail to conduct auction.
In cases where the central government auction the blocks, the revenue in respect of such blocks will accrue to the state governments only.
Urging stakeholders to work towards enhancing the mining sectors’ contribution to GDP to 2.5% from 2% now, the minister said ministry was contemplating further amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation), MMDR Act to bring about tangible reforms in the mining sector of the country. The minister said that the ministry was in the process of finalising the accreditation process for private exploration entities.
Out of fourteen states that received the G4 level mining block reports, Madhya Pradesh received maximum number of 21 reports, followed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, nine reports each.