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BJP against industry status to mining

Raipur, Sep 4 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party today said it favoured value addition of mineral resources, saying that mining lease must be granted only to those who set up their industrial units within the state concerned.

Talking to newsmen here, BJP secretary Dharmendra Pradhan said the the party was opposed the Hoda Committee's recommendation to abolish section 11 (5) of the mines and minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957.

Under the Act, the state governments have the right to recommend the cases of applicants who want to set up industries within their states by rejecting the claims of other applicants.

If this section was abolished, then the Centre may allot mines to anyone without value addition in the mineral-bearing state.

''We are against granting industry status to mining as it would curtail the power being enjoyed by the state for the last five decades and the mineral bearing states would lose the right to impose any condition on lease holders for value addition,'' he said.

Mr Pradhan, who is incharge of party affairs in Chhattisgarh, said the BJP, as a matter of policy, was against granting mining lease to anyone other than those who set up industrial units in the mineral-bearing states.

Asked whether the BJP stand on mining lease was not in contravention to the Chhattisgarh government's decision to recommend grant of mining lease even to those who did not own any industrial units within the state, Mr Pradhan said he was not aware about it.

To a question whether the party would ask the state government to review all mining lease recommendations made by it during the last three-and-a-half years in the wake of its stand that only those who carry out value addition should get mining lease, the BJP secretary evaded a direct reply saying that party's has made its stand clear on the issue.

UNI

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