37 mines in Orissa operating under deemed extension

As many as 37 mines in the state are operating under deemed extension following expiry of their lease term and non-renewal of the lease in time.

These include iron ore, chrome ore, bauxite, manganese, limestone and dolomite mines of companies like Tata Steel, Essel Mining Industries, Jindal Steel & Power （JSPL）, Orissa Mining Corporation （OMC）, Rungta Mines, OCL India and Ferro Alloys Corporation to name a few.

“The state government is examining the RML （Renewal of Mining Lease） applications of these mines with reference to Forest Clearance under Forest Conservation Act-1980, environment clearance under Environment Protection Act-1986, consent to operate from the State Pollution Control Board and approved mining plan under Mineral Conservation & Development Rules-1988 along with the performance of the lessees for the past ten years for the final disposal of the applications”， said minister for steel & mines, Raghunath Mohanty.

Seven mines of Tata Steel, three mines of OMC, two mines each of Essel Mining Industries and Rungta Mines and one mine each of JSPL and OCL India Ltd are currently operating under deemed extension.

The mines of Tata Steel which are operating under deemed extension are Khandbandh （iron ore and manganese ore）, Katamati （iron ore and manganese ore）, Joda West （iron ore and manganese ore）, Bamebari （iron ore and manganese ore）, Joda east （iron ore）, Manmora （manganese ore） and Guruda （manganese）. All these mines are located in Keonjhar district.

Similarly, the south Kaliapani chrome ore mine of OMC in Jajpur district and Gandhamardhan-A as well as Gandhamardhan-B, both iron ore mines owned by the corporation in Keonjhar district are also working under deemed extension.

As many as 310 lease holders had applied for renewal of mining leases （RML） out of which 53 were eligible and they are now operating under deemed extension.

The state steel and mines department, meanwhile, has targeted to renew 150 cases within the next 12 months.

To start with, the department will renew eight out of these 53 cases which have all the requisite clearances and are currently operating under deemed extension. The steel & mines department has already issued renewal notices to the firms operating these mines.

Out of the 53 mining leases, 28 cases which do not have the requisite forest clearance have paid the Net Present Value （NPV） for diversion of forest land for mining activities. The NPV collection from mining activities has been to the tune of Rs 2400 crore out of which the state owned Orissa Mining Corporation （OMC） has paid around Rs 800 crore.

RML cases in the state were temporarily put on hold as a six-member committee headed by Director （Mines） was constituted to look into the cases of miners raising ores beyond the IBM （Indian Bureau of Mines） approved Mining Plan.