Centre rejects gold mining lease | Hubballi News

HAVERI: The much-awaited mining lease (ML) for ‘Ganajur Gold Mining’ has been rejected by the Union government. Deccan Exploration Services Private Limited (DESPL) was supposed to explore gold mining on 72 acres of land at Ganajur village near Haveri.
However, the ministry of mines has clarified that there is no option to grant a mining lease under section 10A (2) (b) of the MMRD Act 1957, amendment 2021.
Now, DESPL has to participate in an open auction and bid to get a composite license for exploring gold in Ganajur. The ministry of mines has cited many reasons to reject the proposal as a violation of norms and delay in taking decisions by the state government. But the company has started a legal battle against the state and Union government to get a mining lease.
According to a letter from the ministry of mines, DESPL’s application was premature for a grant of a mining lease without establishing mineralisation as per United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) guidelines as on the date of filling. The company has not conducted the prospecting operations as per UNFC norms on the date of filing of application. DESPL had also filed it late by 53 days which is exclusive of the three months allowed as the outer limit for filing of ML application.
But, DESPL has denied these allegations. It said they have been following guidelines prescribed by the ministry of mines. But, the state government (in 2017) has neglected the issue.
“We have been working to discover minerals at Ganajur for the last 15 years. Moreover, we have been followed government guidelines for getting an ML, but we are the sufferer due to the lapse of the state government. We are confident on getting justice. We have filed a writ petition in the high court and hope it will uphold our stand,” said Sharadchandra Rao, technical director, DESPL.
Rs 350 crore project
DESPL has been waiting for the ‘Letter of Intent (LOI) for the last 10 years to start mining at Ganajur. The company came forward to invest Rs 350 crore during a mega investors’ meet in 2010 during the BJP government in the state. The company has spent Rs 60 crore for exploration, testing and gold assessment in the proposed area. The company has identified 72 acres of land and deposited Rs 6.8 crore with KIDB as the initial amount for land acquisition. People were expecting it will create more than 500 jobs.
DESPL company has to participate in an open auction and bid to get a composite license for exploring gold in Ganajur