Preliminary No. PEM.83/2009/Pt.-1/627

NOTIFICATION

The 16th March, 2013

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section(1) of section 15 and section 23 C the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act,1957 (67 of 195

R.1 Short title and commencement :-

(1) These rules may be called the Assam Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2013.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the official Gazette.

R.2 Definitions :-

(1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires –

(a) “Act” means the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (Central Act 67 of 1957).

(b) “Boundary pillar” means cemented pillar of size sixty centimeter x sixty centimeter with one metre height and fifty centimete

R.3 Power to grant mining lease or mining contact or any others concession or license or transit pass or permit etc. :-

 A mining lease or a mining contract or permit or any other concession or license or transit pass or permit or license or control or regulation of mining or other action under these rules, etc. shall be granted/taken by :-

(a) The Director in respect of minor minerals for industrial and specific uses as specified Schedule ‘X’.

(1) No royalty or permit fee shall be charged or transit permit required for :

(i) extraction of ordinary clay or ordinary sand by hereditary artisans for manufacturing of earthen pots/ artifacts on a cottage industry basis.

(ii) mining, transportation or storage of clay or sand by hereditary

R.5 Quarrying of minor minerals by Government Department /Agencies/Contractors engaged by Government Departments or Agencies :-

(1) An application for the grant of mining permit for quarrying of any minor minerals by the notified Departments of State or Central Government or any of their agencies for any work/project, shall be made by an officer authorized by the concerned Departments to the competent authority.

(2) The contractors engaged for the works/projects off the Government Departments/Agencies shall be granted mi

R.6 Mining operation under a mineral concession:-

No person shall undertake any prospecting or mining operation activity in respect of any minerals in any part of the State, except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a permit or a prospecting licence or a mining lease or a mining contract or a permit, or a concession in any other form, as the case may be, granted.

Provided that nothing in this sub-rule shall apply to any prospecting operation undertaken by the Geological Survey of India, the Indian Bureau of Mines, the Atomic Minerals Directorate f

R.7 Restriction on grant of mining lease/contract/permit.:-

(1) No mining lease/contract /permit shall be granted in respect of any land within a distance of :-

(i) fifty metres from the outer periphery of the defined limits of any village habitation, National Highway, State Highway and other roads where such excavation does not required use of explosives.

(1) No mining lease shall be granted by the competent authority unless it is satisfied that there is evidence to show that the area for which grant of mining lease is considered has been prospected earlier for minor mineral or the existence of minor mineral therein has been established otherwise.

(2) Any minor mineral deposits, where the competent decides such areas to be operated under a lease,

R.9 Register of applications and mining lease.:-

(1) A register of application for grant or renewal of mining lease shall be maintained in Form ML-2.

(2) A register of mining leases granted under these rules shall be maintained in Form ML-3.

R.10 Inspection of Register:-

The register of applications for grant of mining lease and the register of grant of mining leases shall be opened to inspection by any person or on payment of a fee of Rs. 100/- on any working day.

R.11 Compact area and minimum area of lease in case of isolated deposits.:-

The area for any mining lease should be compact and contiguous as far as possible. However, no mining lease shall be granted for an area of lease than one hectare in case of isolated and small deposits.

R.12 Transfer of a mining lease or contract.:-

(1) The lessee or contractor shall not assign, sublet, mortgage, or any other manner transfer the lease or contract or any right , title or interest therein, to any person without prior approval of the competent authority.

(2) When a lease is granted following the system of pre- qualification of lessees, the competent authority may specify a lock- in period within which no transfer of such leas

R.13 Renewal of lease :-

(1) A mining lease, originally granted under rule 9, may be renewed only once over and above the original lease period, for such period as considered appropriate but not exceeding ten years on expiry of the original lease period, subject to strict, compliance of the terms and conditions of the grant, lease agreement and other approvals or permission for mining granted by Central or State agencies.

The receipt of an application of renewal of mining lease under rule 14, if delivered personally, shall be acknowledged forthwith in Form ML-6 and if the application is received by post, the same shall be acknowledged within seven days of the receipt thereof.

R.15 .

(1) An application for renewal of a mining lease shall be decided by the competent authority within a period of six months of the receipt of complete application in all respects keeping in view the following parameters :

(i) the lessee has complied with all the terms and conditions of the original lease grant and other permissions for undertaking mining operations.

R.16 Surrender of a mining Lease :-

(1) The Government may accept the request of a lease holder for surrender of a lease or part thereof in case where it is established that it has not been found feasible to operate the mining lease grant, for whatsoever reason, subject to all condition that the lessee :

(i) has been regular in furnishing the production returns as required in terms of the lease agreement.

R.17 .

(1) Where a mining lease is granted or renewed, the lease deed shall be executed in Form ML-1 within a period of ninety days of the date of order of grant or renewal of the mining lease and duly registered.

(2) If the lease deed is not executed within the aforesaid period, the order sanctioning the mining lease shall be deemed to have been revoked and the “advance dead rent” and “secu

R.18 Grant of mining contract contracts by competitive bidding.:-

(1) The minor mineral deposits, where the competent authority decides to grant the mineral concession in respect of such area in the form of a contract, may be granted on mining contract, subject to rule 5, for a specified annual quantity (or parts thereof) of minor mineral for a period ordinarily not less than seven years but not exceeding ten years following a competitive bidding process as prescribed under chapter 6 of these rules.

(1) The contractor shall submit an application to the competent authority for renewal of the mining contract eighteen months prior to the date of expiry of the contract period in the prescribed Form MC-2, containing complete details of the mineral excavated, royalty paid, mineral reserves available, details of explorations undertaken, if any, along with the details of the areas reclaims / restored, the sites of overburden, restoration works undertaken etc. The details regarding compliance of other

R.20 Decision on the application for renewal of mining contract.:-

(1) The application for renewal of a mining contract shall be decided on satisfaction of the competent authority with regard to the following :-

(i) The contractor has complied with all the terms and conditions of the contract agreements and other permissions for undertaking mining operations.

The Government may accept the contractors request for surrender of a contract or part thereof in cases where it is established that is has not been found feasible to operate the contract grant for whatsoever reasons subject to the condition that the contractor :

(i) has been regular in furnishing the production returns as required in terms of the contract agreement.

R.22 Execution of contract Agreement within ninety days.:-

(1) Where a mining contract is granted or renewed, the agreement deed shall be executed in Form MC-1 within a period of ninety days of the date of order of grant/renewal of the contract and shall be duly registered.

(2) if the contract agreement is not executed within the aforesaid period, the order sanctioning the contract shall be deemed to have been rovoked and the “advance contract money” a

R.23 Grant of Mining/ quarrying permits.:-

(1) Subject to rule 5, mining or quarrying may be granted by the competent authority in respect of any area not covered under any mineral concession already granted under these rules in the following cases :

(i) mining in respect of areas ordinarily less than five hectares for a specified annual quantity (or parts thereof) of minor mineral.

(1) Subject to sub-rule 92) of rule 23, permits for mining of minor minerals may be granted by the competent authority for extraction of minor minerals in respect of area ordinarily less than five hectares.

(2) Permits under this rule shall be granted only in cases where the competent authority decides such areas to be operated for short periods under special circumstances and with adequate env

R.25 Grant of permits for removal of saltpeter.:-

(1) Subject to sub-rule (2) of rule 23, the permit for excavation of saltpeter, a minor mineral, may be granted along with suitable restrictions regarding the depth of excavation which shall generally not exceed 12 inches.

(2) In case more than one individual/agency shows interest in taking the permit it shall be granted in favour of the individual/agency offering the highest bid.

(1) A permit for excavation of brick earth may be granted by the competent authority in favour of Brick Kiln Owner only for the purposes of manufacturing of bricks.

(2) The initial permit shall be granted for a period that co-terminates with the close of the next financial year so that the further renewal thereof is allowed on bi-annual basis.

(1) Save in the cases covered under sub-rule of ordinary (2) of rule 26, the competent authority may grant permit for lifting of ordinary earth from an area not already granted on any mineral concession to the land owner or the person having consent of the land owner on submission of an application.

(2) The permit for extraction or ordinary earth shall be granted only upto a maximum depth of ni

R.28 Permit for specific emergency situation.:-

The competent authority may, on a requisition from the Deputy Commissioner of the District concern, grant permit for extraction of minor mineral from any area including the areas where mineral concession have been granted to such Government Department or any others Government Agencies requiring mineral for execution of work relating to agreement flood protection works or any other natural calamity or others pressing circumstances for safety of human and cattle life under emergency conditions.

R.29 Application fee for permit.:-

The permits, other than those given through competitive bidding process, may be granted on application made to the competent authority on Forms submitted along with non-refundable application fee of Rs. 500/-

Provided that a Government Department/Agencies seeking a permit under Rule-29 shall be exempted from payment of the application fee.

R.30 Condition on which the Permit for mining/quarrying shall be granted:-

(1) Any mining operation in the case of mining of brick earth or ordinary clay or alluvial deposit below a depth of 1.5 metre shall necessarily require formation of benches for safe mining. The benches would be formed in a manner that the width of the bench is not lesser than the height of the bench.

(2) Any quarrying permit granted under these rules shall contain information with regard to the

R.31 Forfeiture of property left after cancellation of the:-

In case of breach of any of the condition of the grant of the permit, the competent authority may cancel the permit by passing order after giving thirty days notice to the permit holder and for reason to be recorded in writing. On cancellation of the permit, unless specifically ordered otherwise, the quarried mineral lying on the land from which the same was extracted shall be allowed to be removed by the permit holder within a period of seven days after which any residual mineral will become the

R.32 Mode of Grant of mining lease or contact or:-

(1) Save in the cases specifically mentioned under these rules and where such mineral concessions may be granted on application, all mining of contact orleases/contracts/permits shall be granted through a transparent process of inviting competitive bids/open auction.

(2) The competent authority may, in the interest of mineral conservation and scientific mining, pre-qualify the potential bidders

R.33 Determination of reserve price for inviting bids/auction.:-

(1) The competent authority shall upfront determine the reserve price in each case where the mineral concession are granted through competitive bidding/open auction, as the case may be.

(2) State’s of priorities with regard to the observance of principles of sustainable development, inter-generational equities and conservation of minerals, scientific mining, availability of construction materia

R.34 .

(1) A public notice of 21 days shall be published for inviting bids or conduct of open auctions for the mineral leases/ contracts/ permits, as the case may be.

(2) In addition to the publication of notice in writing, competitive bid/ open auction under sub- rule (1) above, the gist such notice, along with the schedule for inviting bid/holding open auctions shall also be published in one daily n

R.35 .

(1) The intending bidder deposit the earnest money, equal to ten percent of reserve price and rounded by amount of Rs. 10,000/-, in each case before commencement of open auction or deposited with the bid, as the case may be.

(2) In case of competitive bids invited through sealed tenders, the earnest money shall accompany the bid offer the in the form of a Demand Draft drawn in favour of the com

R.36 .

(1) The presiding officer shall conduct the auction in a peaceful manner and may direct any bidder to leave the action premises in the event of a disorderly conduct by or behalf of bidder. In case of extreme misconduct or misbehaviors, the presiding officer may order the forfeiture of earnest money deposited by such bidder and recommend his debarring from participation in any future auctions.

(

R.37 .

(1) No bid shall be regarded as ‘successful’ unless accepted by the officer competent to accept bid/ tender in accordance with the provision of the Delegation of Financial Rules,1999 of the State.

(2) The highest bidder shall be required to deposit an amount equal to 25% of the annual dead rent/ contract money as the ‘security’ along with an additional amount equal to one month’s dead rent/ con

R.38 .

(1) The lessee/ contractor shall deposit the annual dead rent (in case of lease) or contract money, as the case may be, in respect of the minor minerals in four quarterly instalment in advance on the 1st of April, 1st of June, 1st of September, and the 1st of December, of the year.

(2) The advance

R.39 .

Following condition shall be application for excavation of minor mineral (s) from river beds in other to ensure safety of river-beds, structures and the adjoining areas:

(i) No mining would be permissible in a river-bed up to a distance of five times of the span of the bridge on up-stream side and ten times the span of such bridge on down-stream side, subject to minimum of 250 meters on the up-

R.40 .

(1) The competent authority may, in the interest of systematic development of mineral deposit, conversation of minerals, scientific mining, sustainable development and protection of the environment, issue direction to owner, agent engineer, geologist or manger of a mine.

(2) Every direction issued under sub-rule (1) shall be complied within such period as may be specified, not being a period of

R.41 .

(I) In case the mineral concession holder to (a) undertake mining in a scientific and systematic manner, or (b) undertakes mining in violation of environmental safeguards, or (c) fails deposit the due amount of dead rent, royalty, contract money or any other amount due to the Government under these rules, or (d) fails to comply with any of the terms and conditions of grant of the mineral concession agreement or other condition imposed by any other State/ Central agency at the time granting permiss

R.42 .

Subject to the condition mentioned under rules 39 and 40, the mineral concession holder shall have the right to use the land in respect of which the mineral concession has been granted for following activities,

(i) working of the mines;

(ii) sink pits and shafts and construct roads;

R.43 .

(1) The Government shall have the right of per-emption of the minor mineral and all products thereof lying over the area granted on a mineral concession or elsewhere under the control of the mineral concession holder at all times during the term of any mineral concession. Upon issue of an order by the Government in writing to this effect, the mineral concession holder deliver all minor mineral of product thereof to the Government at rates worked out on the basis of average billing of mineral for t

R.44 .

(1) Where a mineral concession is granted under three rules over any land in respect of which minor mineral rights vest in the State Government, the rights of the landowner shall be subordinate to that of State Government for extraction of the mineral, access to the quarry/ mine, stacking of minerals of minerals and other subsidiary purposes. The landowner is entitled to a fair rent and compensation for such use of the land and any damage or injury caused to such land.

R.45 .

The amount of annual rent and the compensation shall be settled mutually between the landowner and the mineral concession holder.

R.46 .

(1) Where no agreement is reached by way of mutual settlement between the landowner and the mineral concession holder regarding the rate of rent, the mineral concession holder shall offer to pay rent equal to the amount of Annuity, as application from time to time, as payable in case of land acquisition.

(2) Where the land owner is not agreeable for a mutual settlement under rule 46 and is not

R.47 .

(1) In additional to the rent settled between the parties under rule 45 or determined and payable under rule 46, landowner would also be entitled to payment of a fair and reasonable compensation for any damage caused to such land in respect of the area under actual mining operations.

(2) In cases where the amount of compensation is not mutually settled between n the parties under rule 45, the t

R.48 .

Any mining operations under a mineral concession granted under these rules shall be undertaken by the mineral concession holder in accordance with duly approved ‘mining Plan’

Provided that the State Government may exempt certain specified nature of mining activities from the requirement of preparation of a mining plan.

R.49 .

(1) Non person shall be registered as a ‘Recognised Qualified person’ for the purposes of rule 50 (1) by the Director, unless he possesses:-

(i) A degree in Mining Engineering or a post- graduate degree in Geology granted by a university Grants Commission established under rule section (3 of 1956) or any qualification equivalent thereto and

(1) A mining plan shall be prepared by a Recognized Qualified person (ROP), recognized in this behalf by the Director or an officer authorized by him, or by a person recognized by the Central Government or an officer authorized by the Central Government In this behalf the provision of rue 22 B of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.

(2) The Director shall specify all such person who are so recog

R.51 .

The Director may authorized any of his officer to approve or modify the Mining plan/ scheme of mining for mining of Minor Mineral in the State subject to such officer fulfilling the following qualification:-

(i) A degree in mining engineering or post-graduate degree in geology from a university established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or State Act, including any i

R.52 .

(1) Every mineral concession holder shall prepare a Mining Plan along with the Mine Closure plan (Progressive and Final) and shall not commence mining operation in any area except in accordance with such Mining Plan duly approved by an officer an authorized by the Director in this behalf. The plan shall also contain the conceptual plan of the mining area and take into consideration the following aspects:-

(1) where any modification of approval mining plan is required during the subsistence of the mineral concession holder shall get any such modification approved.

(2) The competent authority may, wherever needed require the mineral concession holder to mare such modifications in the mining plan referred to above impose such conditions, as he may consider necessary by an order in writing if such m

R.54 .

(1) The mining operations shall be undertaken in a scientific and systematic manner i.e mining operation consistent with the approved mining plan/ scheme of mining clearance/ permissions granted by the concerned authorities.

(2) Any un-scientific operation or contravention of the terms of grant or permission (excepting the condition relating to payment of government dues) to operate by the mine

R.55 .

(1) A mineral concession holder shall be held to be in ‘default’ of compliance of the condition of grant of mineral concession in case where the non- compliance is rectifiable suo moto or upon a notice within the period indicated in such notice. Some of the instances of major violations on the part of the mineral concession holder may be in the following areas:-

(i) Undertaking mining operation

R.56 .

(1) Any failure on the part of the mineral concession holder to rectify any default or take corrective measures under rule 55 above within the period specified, or such violation being irreversible and non- rectifiable, or recurrence of defaults takes place, the same shall amount to a ‘breach’ of the terms and condition of grant of the mineral concession.

(2) Where ever a mineral concession hol

R.57 .

(1) A breach of any of the conditions of grant of a mineral concession or violation of any of the conditions relating to permission or clearance to undertake mining any authority shall be as under:-

(i) A competent authority shall, upon inspection by himself or any officer or on reporting of any violation amounting to breach by any other authority, issue a notice to the mineral concession holde

R.58 .

A found known as the ‘Mines and Mineral Development, Restoration and Rehabilitation Found’ shall be established under ‘Public Account’ in the State of Assam under the administrative control of the Department to which rehabilitation charge payable under clause (i) of sub section (1 A) of section 15 of the Act shall be credited in order to meet the following objectives:-

(i) Funding of the common

R.59 Contributions to the fund:-

(1) An amount equal to ten percent of the dead rent or royalty or contract money paid to the State shall be charged from the mineral concession holder in the nature of ‘other charges’ for restoration and rehabilitation works and credited to the Fund in addition to the amount payable to the Government on account of such dead rent or royalty or contract money.

(2) The said contribution shall be r

R.60 Expenditure out of the fund:-

The amount available in the Fund shall be utilised strictly for fulfilment of the objectives for which the fund is being set up and on the terms and conditions as may be stipulated by the Committee constituted under rule 62.

R.61 Restoration and Rehabilitation Works to remain The first charge On the Fund :-

The expenditure on restoration and rehabilitation of the mining sites shall remain the first charge on the fund.

(2) Every mineral concession holder, before undertaking the restoration and rehabilitation works as part of his progressive mine closure plan, shall get his estimates of expenditure on such works duly approved from the Director or an officer authorised by him and submit the utilizati

R.62 Sanction of Expenditure from the Fund:-

(1) Any or all proposals for expenditure from out of the Fund shall be approved by a committee of officers headed by the Secretary of the department and consisting of representatives from the Department of Mines and Minerals, Finance, Environment and Forest, Health, Education, Panchayat and rural development and Social Welfare.

(2) The mode of method of collection , remittance and utilisation o

R.6. Illegalor unauthorised:-

Any person undertaking any mining operations without a valid mineral concession granted under the Act and the rules framed thereunder in any Mining area shall be deemed to be indulging in illegal or unauthorised mining and shall be dealt in accordance with the provisions contained in this chapter.

R.64 Consequences of illegal or unauthorised Mining:-

Any act of illegal or unauthorised mining shall be liable to the following :-

(i) for a first time violation, the said mineral shall be liable to be seized along with the Impounding of all such tools, equipment, vehicles or any other things used for such unauthorised operation, which may be released only upon realization of the payment of price of the mineral and the applicable royalty for the

R.65 .

(1) If the person committing an offence under these rules is a company registered under the Companies Act, every person, who at the time when the offence was committed, was in-charge and was responsible to the company for the conduct of the business of company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly :

Provided that nothin

R.66 Delegation:-

The Government may delegate any powers under these rules, save in the cases of appeals and subject to such restrictions as it may deem appropriate to the competent authority, by an executive order. Similarly, the competent authority , may delegate any of his powers under these rules, save in the case of appeals, and subject to such restrictions as he may deem appropriate, to any of his subordinate officer(s) by an executive order.

R.67 Appeals:-

(1) Unless otherwise provided, an appeal against an order passed by any Sub-ordinate Officer shall lie with the Director / Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Head of forest Force, Assam as the case may be.

(2) An appeal against the order passed by the Director / Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Head of Forest force, Assam shall lie before the Government in the Power (E), Mines a

R.69 Time allowed for appeals or review:-

(1) Any application for review under rule 67 and an appeal under rule 68 (1) can be preferred within a period of Sixty days of the passing of the impugned order. A delay up to thirty days beyond the permissible appeal

period may be condoned by the Director / Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Head of Forest Force, if found justified.

(1) Every application for review or appeal shall be accompanied or appeal with the fee as prescribed in the Second Schedule appended to these rules.

(2) No application for review or appeal shall be entertained in matters where the applicant is in default of any Government dues, on whatsoever account, unless he deposits at least twenty five percent of such dues before filling such application an

R.71 Power to rectify inadvertent mistakes.:-

 (1) The competent authority may at any time , within six months, from the date of the order passed under these rules, on its own motion rectify any mistake or error apparent on the face of the record, and may within the like period rectify any such mistakes or error which has been brought to its notice by an applicant for the grant of the minor mineral(s) concession.

(2) No such rectification under sub-rule (1) above, as has

R.72 Recovery of Government dues as arrears of land revenue:-

(1) Any rent, royalty, fee, contract money or other sum due to the Government or penalty imposed under these rules or under the terms and conditions of the mining lease or contract or permit and remaining unpaid, shall constitute a first charge on the assets of a mineral concession holder or the surety furnished under these rules and shall be recoverable as arrears of Land Revenue.

R.73 Unauthorized working:-

(1) No person shall undertake any mining operations in any area, except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a mineral concession granted under these rules.

(2) Notwithstanding any other punitive measures for any violations provided under the rules, any contravention of sub rule (1) shall be subject to the provisions contained in section 21 of the Act.

R.74 Offences cognizable only on written Complaint:-

(1) No court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under these rules except upon a complaint in writing made by b the competent authority within three months of the date on which said offence to have been committed.

R.75 Relaxation in special cases:-

(1) The Government may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, relax any provision of these rules in cases where any mineral concession is granted to any Government Department, or a company or a corporation wholly owned or controlled by the State or Central Government.

R.76 Commencement of the grant of a mineral Concession:-

A mineral concession granted under these rules, in whatever form, shall commence from the date of execution of the agreement of from such date as specified therein.

R.77 Concession registration of Lease Deeds/contract Agreements:-

All lease deeds or contract agreements effective for a period of 11 months or more shall be duly registered with the Registrar. All expenditure on registration of the lease deed or contract agreement shall be borne by the concession holder.

R.78 Applicability of other statutes:-

Grant of any mineral concession or other permissions under these rules shall not absolve the holder from the applicability of other statutes.

R.79 Repeal and savings:-

(1) The Assam Minor Mineral Concessions Rule, 1994 as amended from time to time, in their application to the State of Assam are hereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken or proceedings commenced under the Ássam Minor Mineral Concessions Rule, 1994’as amended from time shall be deemed to have been done, taken or commenced under these rules :

FORM ML.1 [SEE RULE 8(5) AND 17 (1)]

Model form for execution of Mining Lease Deed

This indenture made on this ______________________day of ______________ 201_ between the Governor of Assam acting through

FORM ML.2 {See rule9(1)}

(Register of application for grant/ renewal of Mining Lease)

FORM ML.3 {See rule9(1)}

(Mining Lease Register)