J'khand enforces blanket ban on export of minerals

J'khand enforces blanket ban on export of minerals

M Madhusudan/HT Correspondent The Hindustan Times

October 20, 2005

Ranchi - The Jharkhand government on Thursday took the first concrete step towards enforcing a blanket ban on the export of minerals from the State to anywhere outside the country.

The move assumes significance since there were no laid down rules and regulations to this effect and the state government's declaration earlier banning the export was only in principle.

The state cabinet, which approved a proposal in this regard by the Mines & Geology Department, however, allowed the provision of inter-state export of minerals providing the mining lease holders, who had been granted the prospecting licences prior to the move, first fulfilled the needs of the local industrial units on a priority basis.

The ban, which precedes the state government's plans of putting a Mineral Policy in place, now includes in its ambit all those mining leaseholders, already functional in the state, whose export activities continued unchecked in the absence of a written law.

Official sources said the ban was put into effect to prevent any controversy, especially, in the wake of investors making a beeline to Jharkhand and the hullabaloo over the Orissa government's deal with Posco.

A case in point is the Mittal Steel, which had initially insisted upon the export of 30 per cent of the total 600 MT iron ore reserves to be earmarked for its steel plant. However, with the Jharkhand government refusing to accept its request, the world's largest steel maker withdrew its export clause before finally signing the MoU for setting up a 12 MT steel plant with an investment of Rs 40,000 crore.

The Cabinet further approved a proposal stipulating that, henceforth, the mining leases would be granted to only those entrepreneurs who set up their units in Jharkhand for carrying out the value-addition part of the minerals.