Hyderabad: Auctioning of mines did bring a procedural shift to the minerals and mining sector, according to Union minister of mines Narendra Singh Tomar at the Mining Today 2018, an international conference-cum-exhibition, on Wednesday.
“After the 1957 Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation Act was amended in 2015, and auctioning process was bought under mining, Rs 1.8 lakh crore worth mineral resources have been auctioned. These were entailed to fetch Rs 1.35 lakh crore revenue to the country. Owing to the auction process, additional revenue to states and local societies will be to the tune of Rs 1.04 lakh crores,” he said.
Under Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY), a scheme for social uplift of people and development of areas affected by mining-related operations, Telangana collected Rs 1,328 crore for the district mineral foundations.
The state government was actively working in auctioning of mines and in case the state faced any issues in block auctioning or exploration of minerals, the Centre would extend all kind of support, Tomar added.
IT minister K.T. Rama Rao said, “We’ve created a record, wherein we completed exploration of three limestone blocks in Suryapet within three months. The revenues from mining and minerals for 2016-17 for Telangana is Rs 3,170 crore and for 2018-19 we are expecting a growth of 30 per cent to around Rs 3,500 crore.”
