The government of the eastern Indian state of Odisha is working to regularize the leases of at least 56 closed iron ore mines in the region within the current financial year, a government official stated on Wednesday, June 15.
Previously, orders of the Supreme Court directed that mines which had remained closed for two or more years would have their mining leases cancelled.
However, after taking legal advice, India’s Ministry of Steel in a communication to the Odisha government stated that the order of the Supreme Court is not “absolute” and existing lease holders should be given the option of placing on record that the mines were closed for reasons beyond their control.
The Odisha government official said that most of the 56 mines will likely be reopened over the course of the year since most of them were forced to close down following changes in environmental legislations and delays in securing mandatory government approvals.