There is no provision in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 [MMDR Act, 1957] for acquiring land for any mine. As per the provisions of the MMDR Act, 1957 and rules made thereunder, the State Governments are empowered to grant the mineral concessions for the minerals located within their respective boundaries. Land required for mining purpose is acquired either through voluntary agreement between the land owner and the prospective lessee or under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation And Resettlement Act, 2013. Further, for mining of coal by Government companies land can also be acquired under Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957.

As per the information provided by the Government of Maharashtra, 1596 hectare land including 6.33 hectare Gaothan land of Hewati village has been acquired by Western Coalfields Limited under Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957 in respect of Makardhokra-III opencast project.

The Ministry of Mines does not administer any Act related to Real Estate.

As per the information provided by the Government of Maharashtra, for the Makardhokra-III project, out of 1596 hectare total acquired land, there exists 1391.7 hectare tenancy land of affected farmers for which land compensation and Rehabilitation and Resettlement benefits in respect of 1385.37 hectare of agricultural land have been approved. Government of Maharashtra has also informed that till now, land compensation to the tune of Rs. 336 Crore and 1089 numbers of employment / monetary compensation have been disbursed. However, for 6.33 hectare abadi land, the land compensation and Rehabilitation and Resettlement benefits are yet to be settled.

This information was given by Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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AL/AKN/RKP