Rajasthan rejects Hoda Committee recommendations on Mining

New Delhi, Nov 6 (UNI) The Rajasthan Government today rejected the Hoda Committee recommendations for development of mines and minerals, saying some of suggestions were regressive and impractical, not suitable to a mineral-rich state like Rajasthan.

Participating in the Mineral Advisory Council Meeting convened by Mines Minister Shish Ram Ola here, Rajasthan's Mines Minister Laxmi Narain Dave, representing chief minister Vasundara Raje, pointed to the Committee's recommendation that any delay in disposing off any application at the level of state government, the jurisdiction to decide such application would automatically be transferred to the Central Government.

''This recommendation directly impinges upon the inherent and mandated powers of the state for management of mineral wealth in the state, he asserted.

Mr Dave said, while the state government was open to any suggestion for arriving at early decisions on pending applications, no state can agree to forego the inherent power vested with them on the ''pretext of delay in decision-making.'' He said delays did not occur at state level only. Very often decisions had been delayed at the central level for various reasons like environment and forest clearnaces from the Ministry. Therefore such an amendment diluting and divesting the state's power would not be in the interst of maintaining congenial Cenre-State relations, he said.

The Rajasthan Minister also pointed out that grant of the Prospecting Licenses (PL) to non-exclusive Reconnaissance Permit (RP) holders on "first in time" principle, would certainly lead to disputes and shall result in virutal monopolies over large areas by a few individuals, adopting 'block and forget' strategy.

Similarly, the recommendation regarding consideration of a single application without the condition of value addition is a regressive one, he said, cautioning that adoption of such strategy would seriously jeopardise mineral based industrialisation in the state.

He demanded that powers to decide application for minerals specified in part A and C of first schedule in the Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation Act 1957 be transferred to the State.

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