Stressing the need to allow mining for development projects, Mines and Geology Minister Murugesh R. Nirani on Tuesday announced a plan to introduce a policy to regularise unauthorised mining. He, however, clarified that only the unauthorised mining of those who fulfil the criteria under a new policy would be considered for regularisation.
Speaking at Yadgir, he said new legislation would be enacted by amending the current legislation to curb illegal mining after soliciting the views from different stakeholders.
The Minister plans to convene meetings with department officials on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss measures to prevent illegal mining and to introduce a policy on regularisation. “The scourge of illegal mining is not restricted to Karnataka; it is rampant across India. We will also study the measures taken by other States to curb illegal mining and will take a final decision after talks with the Chief Minister,” Mr. Nirani said.
