Know your Ministry - No. 40 - Mines

Ministry of Mines is responsible for survey and exploration of all minerals, other than natural gases, petroleum and atomic minerals, for mining and metallurgy of non-ferrous metals like aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, gold, nickel, etc. and for administration of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 in respect of all mines and minerals other than coal, natural gas and petroleum

Ministry of Mines is responsible for survey and exploration of all minerals, other than natural gas, petroleum and atomic minerals; for mining and metallurgy of non-ferrous metals like aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, gold, nickel etc. and for administration of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 in respect of all mines and minerals other than coal, natural gas and petroleum.

Subjects allocated to the Ministry of Mines, Attached Office, Subordinate Office, Public Sector Undertakings and Research Institutions under the administrative control of Ministry of Mines are given below:-

1. (a) Legislation for regulation of mines and development of minerals within the territory of India, including mines and minerals underlying the ocean within the territorial waters or the continental shelf, or the exclusive economic zone and other maritime zones of India as may be specified, from time to time by or under any law made by Parliament.

(b) Regulation of mines and development of minerals other than Coal, Lignite and Sand for stowing and any other mineral declared as prescribed substances for the purpose of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (33 of 1962) under the control of the Union as declared by law, including questions concerning regulation and development of minerals in various. States and the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

2. All other metals and minerals not specifically allotted to any other Ministry/Department, such as Aluminium, Zinc, Copper, Gold, Diamonds, Lead and Nickel.

3. Planning, development and Control of, and assistance to, all industries dealt with by the Ministry.

4. Administration and Management of Geological Survey of India.

5. Administration and Management of Indian Bureau of Mines

6. Metallurgical Grade Silicon.

ATTACHED OFFICE / SUBORDINATE OFFICE

Geological Survey of India (Head Quarters, Kolkata) is an Attached Office and Indian Bureau of Mines (Head Quarters, Nagpur) is a Subordinate Office of the Ministry.

PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS

• National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Bhubaneswar;
• Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), Kolkata;
• Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL), Nagpur;

AUTONOMOUS BODIES

• National Institute of Rock Mechanics, (NIRM), Kolar Gold Fields (Karnataka),
• National Institute of Miners’ Health (NIMH), Nagpur,
• Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) Nagpur.

In addition to the above, two registered Societies, namely, the Non-ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre, Hyderabad (NFTDC) and Centre for Techno-Economic Policy Option New Delhi (C-Tempo) both are non-grant institutions within the administrative purview of Ministry of Mines.

PUBLICATIONS

Mineral Scenario : Indian Mineral Scenario & International Mineral Scenario, Monthly Summary On Non Ferrous Minerals And Metals – Latest upto the month of August 2020, 12th Plan Working, Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), International Copper Study Group(ICSG), Monthly Publications – Latest published for the month of  December 2016, Annual Report and Average Sale Price

IT INITIATIVES

Under Post-Auction Mining Clearances and Approvals Facilitator (PAMCAF).  Transparency, Auction Monitoring and Resource Augmentation" (TAMRA) a web based portal and Mobile APP has been conceptualized to provide the status of mining block auctions.

ISSUES & CHALLENGES RELATED TO COAL MINING ACTIVITY

• Environmental problems, related policies, and the governance issues associated with coal mining impacts the environment and ecology to an unacceptable degree.
• Lack of a clear cut national level agenda for Afforestation as industrial policies facilitate destruction of forests & biodiversity as coal resources in India are mostly located in forest areas.
• Air pollution emanated on account of  coal mining activities like drilling, blasting, excavation, construction of haul roads, movement of heavy earth moving machinery results in fugitive emissions of particulate matter and dust causing significant human and social impacts due to air pollution and ecological disturbances.
• Land degradation due to the impact of coal mining operations. Open cast mining causes a much greater degradation to land than underground mining. With prominent emphasis on large scale mechanized opencast mining in India, large tracts of land are left degraded as a result of activities like excavation, stacking of waste dumps, discharge from workshops, construction of tailing 24 ponds, etc.
• Problems related to underground mining operations resulting in the subsidence of land changing the topography and drainage pattern.
• Stress on water resources due to Coal mining activities adversely affect the environment degrading the quality of water and results in increase in acidity level of water due to  lowering the pH value of the surrounding water resources.
• Governance issues with regard to environmental management despite the existence of policy and legislative framework, environmental condition in and around the mining areas has continued to deteriorate over the years.
• Delays in receiving approvals and clearances in the present legislative and regulatory framework where the allottee of a captive coal block is required to obtain multitude of clearance and approvals before actual production can begin. The process of seeking clearances is a long drawn process involving central and state ministries, and sometimes also lack clarity. This causes significant delays in production from the allotted captive blocks. Clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forest clearance is said to be time consuming, since many departments and issues are involved, and also because a vast majority of coal blocks have a strong overlap with forest areas. Although the government has prescribed time frame for various clearance, these limits are rarely adhered to.

WAY FORWARD

• Government needs to formulate a clear cut National Policy for Afforestation and implementation of all guidelines issued in this regard by the National Green Tribunal and Supreme Court.
• Induce a statutory transparency eliminate the extant opaque & flawed policies related to the process of allocation of captive coal blocks as it has been a source of controversies in the coal mining sector. Hence there is a desperate need to enhance transparency and knowledge on various issues related to the Mining secdtor.
• To integrate the Ministry of Mines with the Ministry of Environment & Forest and headed by a Cabinet rank minister with two Minister of States would address to many administrative and statutory processes involved in both Mining and Environment activities.
• Appoint an Independent Coal Regulator to check price distortions as pricing of coal is being conferred on Coal India Limited (CIL) which is still far from being efficient and market driven, and though it is guided by the Ministry of Coal.
• Need for introducing price reforms in the sector to establish a competitive market to eliminate the presence of a large monopoly producer who has never allowed the mining sector to reap the benefits of price deregulation. The impact of monopolistic market structure is exacerbated by the absence of an independent regulatory oversight. Hence the presence of an independent regulator is important to boost investments in the sector, create a level playing field, introduce competitive price regulations, and to govern allocation of blocks, approve mines, etc.
• Strengthening capacity of existing regulatory agencies and local institutions by strengthening regulatory and enforcement mechanisms so that coal needs of the country are met without hampering environment and social sustainability.
•  Ensuring timely and regular co-ordination among centre, state and district level agencies.
• Promoting greater responsiveness and accountability across all levels of government and laying clear rules and statutory guidelines on the power, functions, and responsibilities of different institutions.