The Mines Minster, Mr Dinsha Patel, is hopeful that The Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Bill 2011 will be passed in the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament.

The new Bill, which seeks to bring in the concept of benefit-sharing mechanism in the Indian mineral industry, was introduced in Lok Sabha in December and has now been referred to the Standing Committee of Parliament in January.

The committee has invited suggestions and may submit its report before the end of March. “We are hopeful that the Bill will be passed in the second leg of the Budget Session in April-May,” Mr Patel said.

He was speaking to reporters after inaugurating the 50th Meeting of the Central Geological Programming Board of the Geological Survey of India.

The new MMRD Bill provides for profit and royalty sharing with project-affected people besides a simple and transparent mechanism for granting of mining lease or prospecting licence through competitive bidding.

As per the provisions of the Bill, coal and lignite companies will have to pay an amount equal to 26 per cent of their previous year’s profit from mining operations to the District Mineral Foundation for the welfare of the project-affected people. Non-coal mining firms will have to pay an amount equivalent to the royalty paid for the financial year towards the same.

It also enables advanced technology adoption for exploration of deep-seated and concealed mineral deposits and empowers State Governments to cancel the existing concessions to prevalent illegal and irregular mining.

The new Bill also enables registered co-operatives for obtaining mineral concessions on small deposits to encourage tribals and small miners to take up mining operations.

Besides, it also empowers the Central Government to institute a statutory mechanism to promote sustainable mining, set up National Mining Regulatory Authority to advise Government on royalty rates, benefit-sharing, conduct investigation and launch prosecution in cases of large-scale illegal mining.

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