The state government is hoping that the first permissions could be given for scientific coal mining within the next six to eight months.
Speaking in the Assembly today, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma informed that there are 17 applications have been received so far for prospecting licences for coal. All 17 have received approval from the central government and are now in the exploration stage. They will have to submit a geological report before being granted a mining lease.
This bureaucratic process is a far cry from what went before Meghalaya was brought under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act when rat-hole mining ruled supreme and little in the way of regulation was ever enforced. Even now, despite the ban on rat-hole mining, there have been persistent accusations and evidence that illegal operations continue.
Asked what income Meghalaya can expect once scientific mining becomes a reality, the Chief Minister stated that that would depend on the number of licences granted and how much extraction of coal takes place. This comment is rather surprising as the CM had already told the Assembly last week that the government expects to earn Rs 500 crore in additional revenue through scientific mining in 2022-23.
In terms of the breakdown of expected revenue, Sangma said that there are four parts – royalty of Rs 675 per tonne, cess of Rs 300 per tonne, District Mineral Fund at 10 percent of the royalty and a charge of 2 percent of the royalty for the National Mineral Exploration Trust. This works out to Rs 1,056 per tonne in total.
He also explained the complicated process to obtain a mining licence. Firstly, prospectors have to have at least 100 hectares of land to begin, obtain a ‘non-forest certificate’, submit other documents and maps and pay a fee of Rs 5,000. If approved by the state and Centre, permission for geological exploration is given and, when this is complete, another process has to be met and required documents submitted and permissions sought.
“We expect that within this year, between six to eight months, a few of these applicants will get approval for their mining plans and should be able to start mining activity very soon,” the CM said, though he added that, being the first time this procedure has been followed, there may be a learning curve and delays.
