Odishatv Bureau

Bhubaneswar: Good news for the mining industries as the inter-departmental committee meeting which is scheduled to be held on Saturday is going to determine the fate of 29 mines, including the 19 closed ones, in the State.

The meeting, which is to be chaired by the development commissioner, has been convened after advocate-general gave a go-ahead for it.

The fate of the 29 mines – 19 iron and manganese mines, which are lying closed following a Supreme Court order, four operating under Express Order and six non-iron and non-manganese mines – will be decided in the meeting.

Sources said the lease duration of captive mines will be extended till March 31, 2030, and that of the non-captive mines till march 31, 2020. The meeting will strictly follow the guidelines of amended MMDR Act.

According to the amended Act, the transitional period in the matter of captive mines will be 15 years while five years in the field of non-captive mines. However, the lease-holders need to fulfill all the statutory clearance on which the State government will decide to open up the closed mines.

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