MMDR Amendment Bill Propesed In Lok Sabha

• The 2021 “Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulations) Amendment Bill”, proposed in Lok Sabha.
• MMDR bill amended the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act of 1957.
• Removal of restrictions on mineral end-uses: The Bill stipulates that no mines may be reserved for specific end-uses.
• Sale of minerals from captive landmines: The Bill stipulates that captive landmines (except atomic minerals) can sell 50% of their annual minerals production on the open market after meeting their own needs.
• The central government can raise this threshold through notification. 
• In some cases, auctions are conducted by the central government: The Bill authorizes the central government to negotiate with the state governments to specify a time period for completing the auction process.
• If the state government cannot complete the auction process during this period, the auction can be conducted by the central government.
• Allocation of mines with expired leases: The Bill says that mines (other than lignite, coal, and atomic minerals), whose lease has expired, may be allocated to a government company in certain cases.
• The state government can grant a lease for such a mine to a government company for a time period of 10 years or until the selection of a new lessee, whichever is earlier.
• Statutory clearances transfer: The draft bill stipulates that the statutory clearances of the transfer will be valid for the entire lease term of the new tenant.
• Allocation of mines whose leases expire: The Bill states that mines whose leases expire (except for coal, lignite and atomic minerals) can be allocated to government companies under certain circumstances.