Lok Sabha Question No. 3039 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-08-04
Subject: Illegal Mining of Iron and Manganese Ore
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3039 TO BE ANSWERED ON 4 TH  AUGUST, 2016

## 'ILLEGAL MINING OF IRON AND MANGANESE ORE'

## 3039.  SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  a  lot  of  illegal  mining  of  iron  and  manganese  ore  has  taken  place  in  the country during the last three years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and
- (c) the steps/measures taken by the Government for controlling this illegal mining?

## ANSWER

## THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  FOR  POWER,  COAL, NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND MINES (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (b) As  per  section  23C  of  the  Mines  and  Minerals  (Development  and  Regulation) (MMDR) Act, 1957, state governments have been empowered to make rules for preventing illegal  mining,  transportation  and  storage  of  minerals.  Specific  details  related  to  illegal mining of iron and manganese ore are not maintained centrally.

However  based  on  the  quarterly  returns  on  illegal  mining  submitted  by  various state governments to Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) (a subordinate office of the Ministry), details of instances of illegal  mining (both major minerals and minor minerals) reported in various  parts  of  the  Country  and  the  action  taken  by  State  Governments,  for  the  last  three years  i.e.  2013-14  to  2015-16(Quarter  ending  December  2015)  are  at  Annexure-I  to Annexure-III.

To check the illegal mining in the respective states, 22 State Governments have  constituted  the  task  force  and  20  State  Governments  have  framed  rules  under section 23C of MMDR Act, 1957 to curb illegal mining.

(c) For controlling illegal mining in the country, the Central Government inter-alia has taken following measures:

1. The  MMDR  Act,  1957  was  amended  through  the  MMDR  Amendment  Act,  2015 which came into effect from 12 th January, 2015. The Amendment Act has, inter alia, stringent  punitive  provisions  for  combating  illegal  mining.  Illegal  mining  has  been made punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and with  fine  which  may  extend  to  five  lakh  rupees  per  hectare  of  the  area.  Provisions have been made for setting up of Special Courts for the purpose of providing speedy trial of offences relating to illegal mining.
2. The  Central  Government  amended  Rule  45  of  the  Mineral  Conservation  and Development  Rules,  1988,  making  it  mandatory  for  all  miners,  traders,  stockists, exporters  and  end-users  to  register  with  the  Indian  Bureau  of  Mines  and  report  on
3. tracking the movement of minerals to Indian Bureau of Mines and State Government as one of the measures to combat illegal mining.
3. Indian  Bureau  of  Mines  (IBM),  has  entered  into  a  MoU  with  National  Remote Sensing  Centre  (NRSC),  for  a  pilot  project  'Sudoor  Drushti'  to  demonstrate  the feasibility  of  using  High  Resolution  Satellite  imagery  and  Digital  Elevation  Model (DEM) in monitoring mining activities / changes over a period of time over selected group of mines.
4. The Ministry of Mines  also have engaged the services of Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space  Applications  &  Geo-Informatics  (BISAG),  Gujarat  to  develop  a  'Mine Surveillance System'(MSS) for major minerals in consultation with Indian Bureau of Mines to enhance the mechanism of detecting illegal mining with the use of satellite based technology.

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