OREANDA-NEWS. December 12, 2012. It has been alleged in the news item appearing in The Pioneer of 10th December 2012  under the caption  “Parliament bypassed to steal rare atomic minerals”  that the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has flouted rules governing civil society by stealthily throwing open the country’s precious mineral resources to corporates for exploitation, without the approval of the Parliament. It has been stated that DAE’s Gazette Notification of January 20, 2006, revising the list of Prescribed Substances, has been issued without having a proper mandate.

It is clarified that the DAE firmly respects the supremacy of the Parliament and never can even imagine of bypassing it. 

The Section 2(1) (g)  of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 mandates the DAE to notify the list of Prescribed Substances through a Gazette Notification. Accordingly, the Gazette Notification of 20th January 2006 excluding the Titanium bearing minerals (Ilmenite, Rutile and Leucoxene) and Zircon from the list of Prescribed Substances   has been issued.

In fact, it is not for the first time that such Gazette Notification revising the list of Prescribed Substances was issued in 2006; rather in the past too, a similar notification was issued in the year 1995. 

The DAE Gazette Notification of January 20, 2006 which was given effect from January 2007, has a footnote stating that, “These items shall remain prescribed substances only till such time the Policy on Exploitation of BSMs notified vide Resolution number 8/1(1)/97-PSU/1422 dated 6th October 1998 is adopted/revised/modified by the Ministry of Mines or till the 1st January 2007, whichever occurs earlier and shall cease to be so thereafter”. Accordingly the notification came into effect from 1st January 2007, while the corresponding regulatory mechanism prescribed in the MMRD Act and Mineral Concession Rules, in respect of Atomic Minerals, remain in place and continue to be implemented. 

The change to the list of the Prescribed Substances notified by DAE in January 2006 has not removed these minerals out of the control of the Central Government.  The State Governments have to obtain prior approval of the Ministry of Mines in all such cases of mining leases, since these items remain under the First Schedule of the MMRD Act. The Ministry of Mines continues to refer to DAE, even after January 2007, the applications received for mining lease for Beach Sand Minerals that were delisted vide the January 2006 Gazette Notification. Such applications received by DAE have been reviewed by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) and then cleared by the DAE.

The requirement under the MMRD Act (1957) that the mining plan of all Atomic Minerals listed in the First Schedule needs to be approved by AMD, too, is being followed in true letter and spirit.

In addition, vide DAE Notification of 2009, issued by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) under the Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules 2004, the Beach Sand Mineral (ilmenite, rutile, leucoxene, zircon, sillimanite, garnet and monazite) processing facilities have to procure a licence from AERB for radiological safety aspects.

However, in view of concerns raised in some sections of the media, DAE has already taken suitable initiatives, by taking up with Director General Foreign Trade and Customs Authorities, towards maintaining a strict vigil at exit points and                                                                                                        strengthening sampling mechanism for monitoring the Beach Sand Minerals in export  consignments. The design of Radiation Detection Equipment (RDE) being manufactured by Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), a PSU under DAE, for progressive deliveries to the Indian sea-ports in 2013, has been checked for its effectiveness in monitoring radioactivity in the Beach Sand Mineral consignments, so as to readily detect any unacceptable level of monazite contamination therein. Indeed, one of the additional technical measures being considered includes the automatic transmission of data from the RDE to a centralised facility.

 The Department of Atomic Energy reiterates that it is fully aware of its obligations and the rules governing its functions and continues to exercise utmost care in all its dealings ensuring full compliance with legal requirements as mandated by the Parliament.