MUMBAI: The government has given legal immunity to the Gadchiroli District Mining Authority (GDMA) formed to develop the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district as the new steel hub of the country. The GDMA will be protected from all suits, prosecutions and other legal proceedings against it.
The body has also been accorded powers to frame rules and regulations that it may deem necessary to exercise its powers and discharge its duties. The powers were granted through legislation for which the state government promulgated an ordinance on June 2.
The state government is looking to develop Gadchiroli as the next steel city of the country. The top private players in the steel sector have committed to investing ₹50,000 crore in the district, and one company has already started mining high-quality iron ore, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the state legislature in December last year. Accordingly, a mining authority for the district was approved in the state cabinet meeting held in the first week of April.
Now the government has further decided to give protective cover to GDMA by enacting a law. “No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any member of the authority or the executive committee constituted under this ordinance for anything done or any action taken in good faith under this ordinance,” states the ordinance promulgated by the state mining department, which will be converted into legislation by tabling a bill in the upcoming monsoon session of the state legislature.
The 16-member GDMA will be headed by the chief minister. The ordinance has also allowed the formation of an executive committee, headed by the chief secretary, that will finalise the terms and conditions of the tender and approve the tenders for appointing a mine developer-cum-operator (MDO) for the operationalisation of the mineral blocks. The protection from legal proceedings has been extended to the nine-member executive committee as well.
The GDMA will have all the power to make rules and regulations that it believes are necessary for discharging its duties. “The authority may, with the prior approval of the government, from time to time, make regulations, not inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance and the rules made thereunder, for all or any of the matters to be provided under this ordinance by regulations and generally for all other matters for which the provision is, in the opinion of the authority, necessary for the exercise of its powers and the discharge of its functions under this ordinance,” the ordinance noted.
The state mining department was of the view that the absence of an integrated administrative mechanism was hampering swift execution of the mining project, and thus the formation of a unified authority to expedite mining approvals was proposed. “It will foster the growth of mineral-based industries and accelerate the holistic development of Gadchiroli district,” said a senior mining official, adding, “The GDMA will act as a catalyst in speeding up the process of operationalisation of approved mining leases. It will also generate employment in the said area and boost the state’s revenue.”
I S Chahal, additional chief secretary of the state mining department said that the government did not intend to give any such protection to GDMA. “The provision has been incorporated only to protect the government resolutions to be issued in this regard. In the absence of legislation, people often challenge the government resolution, saying that there is no such provision in any of the existing acts,” he told Hindustan Times.
Currently, Lloyds Metals & Energy Ltd operates iron ore mines in Gadchiroli’s Surjagarh, which were awarded on lease in 2007. The operation of the mines could be started only in 2021 owing to the Maoist insurgency. Surjagad Ispat has now proposed a ₹10,000-crore steel plant in Wadlapeth village while JSW Steel too has announced a plan to set up the world’s largest steel plant in Gadchiroli district.