CSE disappointed by Centre's Rules on Mines and Minerals and Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna

The Rules require mining lease-holders to pay merely 10 per cent of royalty as contribution to the DMF for leases granted on and after January 12, 2015. For leases granted before this date, lease-holders are required to contribute only 30 per cent of the royalty.

" This is in contrast to the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015 which required an amount up to an equivalent of the royalty for mines leased before the commencement of the Act, while for new mines leased after the commencement of the Act, the amount prescribed was up to one-third of the royalty," read a statement.

“Such low percentages of DMF contributions reflect a significant watered down version of what has been proposed in the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2015. This will grossly undermine the objectives of the DMFs and will dash the hopes of mining affected communities across the country,” said Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general of CSE.

On Sept 16, the Centre had also brought out the ‘Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna (PMKKKY)’. The PMKKKY gives a blueprint for using the DMF funds to improve the socio-economic conditions of people in mining-affected areas.