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A cautious UPA Government after being stung by allegations of giving away coal blocks through nomination basis, has come up with a series of stringent rules for reserves which it aims to put up on auction through competitive bidding, significant among them being termination of mining lease if its found that the allottee has tried to indulge in corrupt practices like offering of bribes or favours while bidding for a block, and being barred from participating in any bidding process for five years. The Coal Ministry on Wednesday came out with a 'model coal mine development and production agreement' which would come into use once blocks are given out through competitive bidding.

The 70-page voluminous document - on which the ministry has sought comments from stakeholders like the Department of Economic Affairs, Law Ministry, Heavy Industry Ministry, Power and Steel Ministries as well as the Planning Commission by 22.01.2014 -  underlines rules pertaining to giving out mining leases through competitive bidding, which have been included to make the process tougher for bidders in the wake of the Coalgate allegations.

In rules regarding termination of mining agreement, the Coal Ministry has said that this would be done in the event of a delay on part of the allottee of more than six months in achieving any mine development milestone; and a delay (of the same period) in achieving any end use plant development milestone.

More significantly, if it is found that the allottee has indulged in "offering, solicitation or acceptance of an offer, promise or gift of any pecuniary or other nature, including facilitation payments, whether directly or through intermediaries, to any private party or government official" for achieving "any business advantage", then the reserve given to the entity would be deallocated.

Cancellation of the block would also be done if the Government finds out that the allottee has tried to aid or abet or tried to conspire any of the abovementioned acts. Moreover the Government has also kept for itself the right to inspect at any moment of time, "any part of the Mining Area".

"The Government, through its authorised representatives, shall have access to the Mine Allocatee's financial and other records and transactions (relatable to any period) at any time upon reasonable advance Notice, the right to copy therefrom, for the purpose of assessing the performance and compliance of the Mine Allocatee with the terms of this Agreement and all Applicable Laws, rules and regulations or to aid in the enforcement of the same," the document states.

In addition to this, the Government would also through "authorised representatives of other Governmental Authorities.have access to Mine Allocatee's financial and other records relatable to any period at any time upon reasonable advance Notice". It has also kept for itself the right to conduct "either directly or indirectly through any third party, a performance audit to verify compliance by the Mine Allocatee". Also underlining the significance of environmental concerns, the document also kept strict conditions for the allottee which ensure that the entity's activities don't lead to any kind of environmental pollution during mining work.

"Mine Allocatee shall conduct all operations and activities in a prudent, diligent, and efficient manner in accordance with good and acceptable mineral exploration and mining engineering standards and practices and in accordance with modern and accepted scientific and technical principles… All operations and activities under this Agreement shall be conducted so as to minimise waste or loss of natural resources, protect natural resources against unnecessary damage, and in a manner intended to minimize pollution and contamination of the environment," it emphasises.

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