The Centre is working together with the chief ministers of mineral-rich states on value addition and the new mining policy would include all suggestions, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday.
“When the new mining policy will be formulated, all these will be factored in,” Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of the NALCO Foundation Day Lecture here.
Mineral-rich states like Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Rajasthan have been demanding among other things, inclusion of a value addition clause in the new mining policy to ensure proper utilisation of mineral resources in their respective areas. There is also a strong demand for substantial increase of coal royalty.
Earlier, addressing the gathering, Mukherjee had said the challenge was to find a balance between need for economic growth and sustainability of resources, and was optimistic of about 9 per cent growth this year.
“One of the biggest challenges before our nation is to find the correct balance between the need for economic growth, sustainability of resources and natural habitats and the opportunities that need to be created for bringing people such as those in tribal belts into the mainstream of the development process,” Mukherjee said.
“While we need to retain the growth momentum we also need to strengthen the inclusive character of the economy,” he said. Asking companies, including those from the public sector, to look at every aspect being affected including the issues of displacement or environment, he said, “It is equally important to harness the natural resources in a sustainable manner with due emphasis on human and ecological concerns.”
“We need to ensure that every individual and every region in the country benefits from the fruits of this growth,” he added. During the next Five Year Plan from 2012 to 2017, India envisaged financial outlay of over $1 trillion on infrastructure projects, he said.
The country needed to find resources and explore new and evolving methodologies with private sector to make good the anticipated requirements in production of different goods and services in the economy, he said.