Union ministry slashes mining penalties, VED welcomes move | Nagpur News

Nagpur: Union ministry of mines has significantly cut down the penalties applicable to mining lease holders for violation of rules of civil nature. The latest notification issued last week covers flouting of norms other than illegal mining. Earlier, the rules which called for imprisonment in case of minor offences have been replaced by civil penalties.Vidarbha Economic Development (VED) Council, an NGO working on the region’s development, had taken up the matter with govt on easing the penalties.VED’s president Rina Sinha said the organisation took the initiative to address the widespread concerns among mine owners and concessionaires. Recognising that penalties of up to Rs50 lakh for mineral procedural delays such as late filing of reports would create severe operational strain, VED, along with Indian Mines Managers’ Association and Mining Engineers Association of India, held a seminar on the issue. The suggestions were passed on to minister of state Ashish Jaiswal.The move comes as a major relief for the mining sector, says VED after the notification slashing the penalties was issued.Earlier, for a mining lease spread over up to 50 acres, the maximum fine for contravention of rules or terms for mineral concession which specify the period of submission of a report or information ran up to Rs 50 lakh. This has now been reduced to Rs1 lakh. For a slew of other contraventions, it has been reduced to Rs2 lakh instead of Rs20 lakh. For larger mining leases exceeding 150 hectares, the fine has been reduced to Rs25,000 per hectare instead of Rs50 lakh earlier, according to a note shared by VED’s vice president B K Shukla.