Lok Sabha Question No. 941 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-02-08
Subject: Illegal Mining
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: JAGDAMBIKA PAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  941

## ANSWERED ON 08.02. 2018

## ILLEGAL MINING

## 941.  SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL :

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to   state:-

- (a)  whether the Union Government has made any payment to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and other remote sensing organizations engaged for detecting illegal mining and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)   whether  there  are  reports  that  some  companies  involved  earlier  in  illegal  mining  and  violating Supreme Court orders in various parts of the country have been given fresh approval by the State Governments and clearance from the Union Government;
- (c)   if so, the details thereof and the reasons for giving clearance to them, State/ UT-wise;
- (d)  whether any status report has been sought by the Union Government from some States about illegal mining; and
- (e)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  Uttar  Pradesh  along  with  the  action  taken  by  the  Union Government in this regard State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINES (SHRI HARIBHAI PARTHIBHAI CHAUDHARY)

- (a) The Mines and Mineral Development & Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957 under Section 23C empowers the  State  Governments,  to  make  rules  for  preventing  illegal  mining,  transportation  and  storage  of minerals.  However,  in  order  to  best  harness  the  available  space  technology  by  National  Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), a center of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Ministry of Mines has assisted the States in curbing the incidences of illegal mining by taking the following steps:
- (i) Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), Nagpur a subordinate office of Ministry of Mines has entered into a  MoU  with  NRSC  on  21.01.2016  for  a  pilot  project  ' Sudoor  Drishti '  to  demonstrate  the feasibility of using High Resolution Satellite imagery and Digital Elevation Model in monitoring mining activities / changes over a period of time over selected group of mines. The Limestone mining areas in Tandur region of Telangana State and Iron ore mining areas in Bellary-Hospet region  of  Karnataka  State  were  identified  for  pilot  study  to  demonstrate  the  effectiveness  of technology  with  particular  reference  to  volumetric  assessment.  A  sum  of  Rs  15,44,000/-  has been paid to NRSC for this study.
- (ii) Ministry of Mines  through  Indian  Bureau  of  Mines  (IBM),  and  in  association  with the Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications & Geo-Informatics (BISAG), Gandhinagar and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MietY), have developed a 'Mining Surveillance System'  (MSS)  for  curbing  the  incidence  of  illegal  mining  with  the  use  of  satellite  based technology. MSS has been launched for major minerals on 15.10.2016.

(b) to (c): No, Madam. There is no information about such reports. However, with the amendment of MMDR Act in 2015, there has been a paradigm shift in the grant of mineral concessions, which is now to be done through e-auctions instead of allocations, for ensuring greater transparency. A total of 34 mineral blocks have been granted through e-auctions till now.

(d)  to  (e):  The  State  Governments  submit  quarterly  returns  on  cases  of  illegal  mining  to  IBM.  The consolidated  details  thereof,  showing  Year  wise  &  State  wise  cases  of  illegal  mining  for  major  &  minor minerals, including that of Uttar Pradesh, along with the action taken, is enclosed as Annexure.

*****

## Statement showing Year wise State wise Cases of Illegal Mining for Major & Minor Minerals.

| Illegal mining cases   | Illegal mining cases   | Illegal mining cases   | Illegal mining cases   | Illegal mining cases   | Illegal mining cases   | Illegal mining cases                 | Action taken from 2013-14 to 2017-18 (Up to Quarter ending September - 2017)   | Action taken from 2013-14 to 2017-18 (Up to Quarter ending September - 2017)   | Action taken from 2013-14 to 2017-18 (Up to Quarter ending September - 2017)   | Action taken from 2013-14 to 2017-18 (Up to Quarter ending September - 2017)   |
|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sr. No.                | State                  | *2013 -14              | *2014 - 15             | *2015 - 16             | 2016-17                | 2017-18 (Quarter ending Sept - 2017) | FIR Lodged (Nos.)                                                              | Court Cases Filed (Nos.)                                                       | Vehicle Seized (No.)                                                           | Fine realized by State Govt. (Rs. Lakh)                                        |
| 1                      | Andaman &Nicobar       | n.r.                   | n. r.                  | n. r.                  | n. r.                  | n. r.                                | n. r.                                                                          | n. r.                                                                          | n. r.                                                                          | n. r.                                                                          |
| 2                      | Andhra Pradesh         | 7692                   | 9379                   | 9953                   | 9703                   | 4063                                 | 3                                                                              | 12                                                                             | 3                                                                              | 14323.275                                                                      |
| 3                      | Assam                  | 0                      | 0                      | 0                      | n. r.                  | n. r.                                | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              |
| 4                      | Chhattisgarh           | 3994                   | 4953                   | 5862                   | 4794                   | 2227                                 | 2                                                                              | 21787                                                                          | 1138                                                                           | 3338.376                                                                       |
| 5                      | Goa                    | 1                      | 0                      | 2                      | 0                      | 0                                    | 1                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 1                                                                              | 0                                                                              |
| 6                      | Gujarat                | 5447                   | 5716                   | 6499                   | 8325                   | 4586                                 | 382                                                                            | 29                                                                             | 20715                                                                          | 15667.05                                                                       |
| 7                      | Haryana                | 4548                   | 5333                   | 3912                   | 1345                   | 527                                  | 654                                                                            | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 3765.03                                                                        |
| 8                      | Himachal Pradesh       | n.r.                   | n. r.                  | n. r.                  | n. r.                  | n. r.                                | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              |
| **9                    | Jammu &Kashmir         | n.r.                   | n. r.                  | n. r.                  | n. r.                  | 928                                  | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 928                                                                            | 5.088                                                                          |
| ***9                   | Jharkhand              | 901                    | 1162                   | 1645                   | 838                    | 204                                  | 2444                                                                           | 343                                                                            | 3132                                                                           | 432.87                                                                         |
| 10                     | Karnataka              | 8509                   | 8464                   | 9185                   | 5692                   | 2830                                 | 1798                                                                           | 468                                                                            | 11497                                                                          | 11163.03                                                                       |
| 11                     | Kerala                 | 4448                   | 4172                   | 3701                   | 4861                   | 3017                                 | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 8054.73                                                                        |
| 12                     | Madhya Pradesh         | 6725                   | 8173                   | 13627                  | 13880                  | 7854                                 | 516                                                                            | 41299                                                                          | 2978                                                                           | 113206.21                                                                      |
| 13                     | Maharashtra            | 36476                  | 32717                  | 33621                  | 31173                  | 10797                                | 794                                                                            | 1                                                                              | 144784                                                                         | 28178.52                                                                       |
| 14                     | Mizoram                | 21                     | 26                     | n. r.                  | n. r.                  | n. r.                                | 1                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 1.537                                                                          |
| 15                     | Odisha                 | 76                     | 104                    | 62                     | 45                     | 25                                   | 0                                                                              | 4                                                                              | 77                                                                             | 1111.407                                                                       |
| 16                     | Punjab                 | n.r.                   | n. r.                  | n. r.                  | n. r.                  | n. r.                                | n. r                                                                           | n. r                                                                           | n. r                                                                           | n. r                                                                           |
| 17                     | Rajasthan              | 2953                   | 2945                   | 3661                   | 3945                   | 2025                                 | 2536                                                                           | 37                                                                             | 11248                                                                          | 6794.672                                                                       |
| 18                     | Sikkim                 | 0                      | 0                      | 0                      | n. r.                  | n. r.                                | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              |
| ****19                 | Tamilnadu              | 1078                   | 205                    | 58                     | 56                     | 48                                   | 10734                                                                          | 1                                                                              | 35166                                                                          | 12285.82                                                                       |
| 20                     | Telangana              | -                      | 3311                   | 6538                   | 5839                   | 3203                                 | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 4                                                                              | 5314.43                                                                        |
| ****21                 | Uttar Pradesh          | 8718                   | 10024                  | 11575                  | 5737                   | n. r.                                | 562                                                                            | 439                                                                            | 0                                                                              | 9333.57                                                                        |
| 22                     | West Bengal            | n.r.                   | n. r.                  | 575                    | n. r.                  | n. r.                                | 1132                                                                           | 0                                                                              | 218                                                                            | 0                                                                              |
| Grand Total            | Grand Total            | 91587                  | 96684                  | 110476                 | 96233                  | 42334                                | 21559                                                                          | 64420                                                                          | 231889                                                                         | 232975.615                                                                     |

.

* Data received from the State Government has been verified & revised as directed vide Ministry's letter no. 16/135/2016-M.VI dated, 26/12/2016 for the year 2013-14, 2014-15 & 2015-16.
- ** The Jammu & Kashmir State has submitted First QR by mail dated 26/12/2017 for the Quarter ending June 2017 for the year 2017-18 vide letter No. 92/MCC/DGM/Task Force/15/5772 dated 13/11/2017.
- *** Data has been revised as the QR for the Quarter ending March 2017 from State Govt. of Jharkhand received vide letter No. Tech-16(4)/RAN/2016-17 VOL V dated 07/09/2017. Data for the quarter ending Sept. 2017 not received.
- **** Data from the State Govt. of Tamil Nadu for last quarter of Year 2016-17 is not received till date.
- ***** Data not received from the State Govt. of Uttar Pradesh for last two quarters of Year 2016-17 & First Two Quarters of Year 2017-18.

Data for the Quarter Ending December, 2017 (Year 2017-2018) is still awaited from all the States.