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Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, a Coal India subsidiary, will examine the showcause notices carrying penalty worth Rs 20,169 crore issued by the Odisha government for violating mining plans, environmental norms and other regulations.

 

The respective deputy directors of mines in the Talcher, Rourkela and Sambalpur circles issued 24 notices on October 31 to the officers of mining projects of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. The subsidiary received those on November 1.

 

"The showcause notices have been issued for a total amount of Rs 20,169 crore towards compensation under section 21(5) of the Mines & Mineral Development Regulations (MMDR) Act, 1957, for production in violation of mining plan, Environmental Protection Act 1986, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981...," Coal India on Monday said in a communication to the BSE. The company will send its formal response within 30 days of the date of the issue of the notices.

 

"Mahanadi Coalfields is examining the showcause notices and taking all the required actions, including collection of data and records and seeking expert opinion. Reply of showcause notices will be submitted within the stipulated time," the filing said.

 

The showcause notices follow the Supreme Court's judgment on August 2 on unlawful mining of manganese and iron ore in Odisha. Although coal mining was not part of the judgment, the two judges - Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta - had taken a broader view of illegal mining and the consequence, including penalty under the MMDR Act. "Illegal mining takes within its fold excess extraction of a mineral over the permissible limit even within the mining lease area which is held under lawful authority, if that excess extraction is contrary to the mining scheme, the mining plan, the mining lease or a statutory requirement," the judgment said.

 

The judges further called for a relook of the mineral policy of the Centre.

 

"We are of the opinion that the National Mineral Policy, 2008, is almost a decade-old and many changes have taken place since then, including (unfortunately) the advent of rapacious mining in several parts of the country. It is high time that the Union of India revisits the National Mineral Policy, 2008, and announces a fresh and more effective, meaningful and implementable policy within the next few months and in any event before December 31, 2017," the judgment said.

 

Source: The Telegraph