The Hindu Business Line : Minister's assurance to mining industry — `Take care of locals; I'll take care of you'

The real owners of the country's mineral resources are the local people living there and they must get the lion's share from the development of mineral resources instead of the present situation where they get marginal benefits.

This was stated by the Union Minister for Coal and Mines, Ms Uma Bharti, while addressing the 36th annual general meeting of the Federation of Mining Industries (FMI), here on Wednesday.

Ms Bharti, who recently assumed charge as the Cabinet Minister for Coal and Mines, urged the industry to take care of basic human needs of the mining community in terms of education, employment, health and environment issues.

The local people should get the lion's share of the benefits of developing the mineral resources. ``If the industry takes care of the local population in the mineral-rich areas in terms of education, employment, health and the larger environmental concerns, then my Ministry is ready to take up their cause and fight with the Finance Ministry, the Environment Ministry and the other related Ministries as will be required,'' she said.

The Minister of State for Coal, Mines, Law and Justice, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad, while appreciating FMI's role in developing the mineral sector in the country, said that ``from my personal experience of the past one year in the Ministry of Coal and Mines, I can speak with conviction that the vision of the policy statement of 1993 is becoming a reality.''

``The response of the industry to the policy initiatives has been very encouraging,'' he said and added that ``seven of the major transnational mining companies are already in India and they have taken up exploration for minerals in right earnest.''

Extending support to the FMI's demand for liberalising ceiling limits on the exports of iron ore, manganese ore and chrome ore, Mr Prasad said ``I assure you that we support the industry in recommending the complete removal of all kinds of quantitative controls on export of minerals, and would like to take up the matter very forcefully with the Department of Commerce.''

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