Lok Sabha Question No. 1234 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-14
Subject: Illegal Mining
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: Ranjeeta Koli, Sumedhanand Saraswati

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1234

ANSWERED ON 14.12.2022

## ILLEGAL MINING

## †1234. SHRIMATI RANJEETA KOLI: SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARASWATI:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether the Government has vested power in the hand of State Governments regarding enacting laws to check illegal mining;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of the States which have enacted laws for checking illegal mining; and
- (d) the place-wise details of guilty persons against whom action has been taken in the matter so far in the Country including Rajasthan?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF MINES, COAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)

(a) to (d): Yes, Sir, the Government has vested power in the State Governments for enacting laws  to  check  illegal  mining.  Section  23C  of  Mines  and  Minerals  (Development  and Regulation)  Act  (MMDR  Act)  1957,  empowers  the  State  Governments  to  frame  rules  to prevent  illegal  mining  and  the  State  Governments  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official Gazette, make such rules for preventing illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals and for the purposes connected therewith.

In pursuance of the provisions of Section 23(C) of the Act, altogether, 22 State Governments namely,  Andhra  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Chhattisgarh,  Goa,  Gujarat,  Haryana,  Himachal  Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, and West Bengal have framed rules to curb illegal mining.

Further, as per the information provided by various State Governments to the Indian Bureau of Mines, a Sub-ordinate Office of Ministry of Mines, the number of cases of Illegal mining in  the  Country  including  Rajasthan  for  a  period  from  2019-20  to  2021-22  alongwith  the details of action taken on the complaints is given at Annexure-I.

*****

ANNEXURE-I (PQ 1234)

| Sr. No.   |                  |                                              |                                              | No of cases reported during   | Action taken      | Action taken             | Action taken         | Action taken                            |
|-----------|------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------|--------------------------|----------------------|-----------------------------------------|
|           | State            | No of cases reported during the year 2019-20 | No of cases reported during the year 2020-21 | the year 2021-22              | FIR Lodged (Nos.) | Court Cases Filed (Nos.) | Vehicle Seized (No.) | Fine realized by State Govt. (Rs. Lakh) |
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh   | 8354                                         | 10736                                        | 9351                          | 39                | 24                       | 3396                 | 42091.074                               |
| 2         | Chhattisgarh     | 6449                                         | 5376                                         | 3536                          | 0                 | 6449                     | 0                    | 2974.9952                               |
| 3         | Goa              | 0                                            | 0                                            | 1                             | 0                 | 0                        | 0                    | 0                                       |
| 4         | Gujarat          | 7476                                         | 7164                                         | 8713                          | 330               | 64                       | 16858                | 35026.19                                |
| 5         | Haryana          | 1251                                         | 1384                                         | 324                           | 509               | 0                        | 0                    | 2051.077                                |
| 6         | Himachal Pradesh | 2424                                         | 4339                                         | 3230                          | 84                | 1150                     | 13                   | 301.551                                 |
| 7         | Jharkhand        | 3269                                         | n.r.                                         | 1683                          | 1247              | 958                      | 4895                 | 1062.88                                 |
| 8         | Karnataka        | 4935                                         | 5584                                         | 5941                          | 2590              | 1375                     | 1153                 | 8687.395                                |
| 9         | Kerala           | 8575                                         | 7400                                         | 7063                          | 0                 | 0                        | 0                    | 19136.17                                |
| 10        | Madhya Pradesh   | 8223                                         | 11157                                        | 9361                          | 1                 | 11736                    | 11                   | 126617.79                               |
| 11        | Maharashtra      | 10456                                        | 11002                                        | 3605                          | 5511              | 0                        | 25063                | 27479.51                                |
| 12        | Odisha           | 16                                           | 18                                           | 129                           | 0                 | 0                        | 27                   | 255.1993                                |
| 13        | Rajasthan        | 4027                                         | 5815                                         | 9346                          | 1746              | 744                      | 11794                | 21089.967                               |
| 14        | Tamilnadu        | 66                                           | 70                                           | 1272                          | 18398             | 1589                     | 13563                | 1023.542                                |
| 15        | Telangana        | 7039                                         | 5620                                         | 2831                          | 0                 | 0                        | 73                   | 2789.73                                 |
| 16        | Uttar Pradesh    | n.r.                                         | n.r.                                         | 23787                         | 374               | 1840                     | 0                    | 19845.08                                |

n.r. - Quarterly return not received.