2G theory cannot work in mines, auction policy must be reviewed: Jaiswal

Nagpur: Maharashtra's minister of state for finance and agriculture Ashish Jaiswal said that the Supreme Court decision on 2G spectrum does not concern natural resources like minerals. Even the apex court, through a presidential reference, had made it clear that the ruling was only related to the 2G spectrum, he said.

Yet, the govt went ahead with an amendment before the presidential reference was out, and now even mine blocks have to be acquired through competitive bidding. "After auctioning, it may appear that the govt has generated massive revenue. However, there is no guarantee when the revenue will be actually realised. This is because the actual deposits in a block cannot be predicted," he said.

The policy needs to be reviewed, said Jaiswal, who was also the chairman of Maharashtra State Mining Corporation (MSMC) in his previous tenure. Now, due to the amendment, there is no other option but to auction the mine blocks. However, the central govt needs to be convinced to re-evaluate the policy, he said.

Instead of auctioning blocks to mining entities, Jaiswal has advocated for the appointment of mineral development operators (MDO) to exploit the resources on behalf of state govt-owned corporations. These corporations can mine the resources without acquiring a block through auction. In turn, the mineral extracted through the MDOs can be auctioned, Jaiswal said.

The minister was speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of Mining Summit 2025, organised by Vidarbha Economic Development (VED) Council on Saturday. Jaiswal said he would be taking up the suggestion with stakeholders in the sector.

Jaiswal proposed that the state govt promote value addition in the same district where the mineral is extracted. At most, it can happen in the neighbouring district. Otherwise, even iron ore will be taken out of the state like it has happened with manganese, said Jaiswal.

Other delegates in the meeting, including Jaiswal, also raised the issue of pre-embedded mines. Former deputy secretary of mining, Vasant Kulkarni, said the state govt has not come up with the embedded mining blocks. Under this system, all the clearances are taken by the state govt before putting the blocks on auction.

VED chairman, Rina Sinha, said the association has sat down with lessees and discussed the opportunities and challenges in the sector. Most of the leases granted during the pre-auction regime failed to secure statutory clearances, including the acquisition of surface rights. The delay has led to the mining leases lapsing. VED would be putting forward the concerns of the mining industry as it is also one of the major sources of generating employment, she said.