Govt asks State to fast track auctioning of 14 mines

The Dollar Business Bureau

The government has asked Karnataka to fast track the process of auctioning 14 iron ore mines.

The Minister of State for Mines Piyush Goyal met the state authorities on Tuesday and reviewed the progress on auctions. The government has set the last date for securing the bids as on July 18.  

The state, in turn, has assured the government that it will issue the final letter of intent (LoI) by September 22 for auctioning process.

Karnataka’s auctioning process has been delayed because of several problems related to stamp duty. Recently, the state cabinet has resolved the issue of auctioning process by clearing a proposal to revise the Stamp Duty Act.

In addition, the Central government had also requested the Karnataka government to introduce a plan to increase the production of the existing mines to strengthen revenues as well as employment opportunities.

Goyal also said the Karnataka government had assured the Central government that illegal mining in the state had for an issue of the past. It said it had taken a slew of strict measures, including electronic surveillance infrastructure mechanism, to check violations of norms.

Last month, the government has introduced the National Mineral Exploration Policy to attract both domestic and foreign investments in mineral exploration sector.