Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
Ins. by s. 14, ibid. (w.e.f. 28-3-2021). 16 (b) upon completion of such auction, the mining lease or letter of intent for grant of mining lease has been terminated or lapsed for any reason whatsoever, the Central Government may require the State Government to conduct and complete the auction or re-auction process, as the case may be, within a period to be fixed in consultation with the State Government and in cases where such auction or re-auction process is not completed within such period, the Central Government may conduct auction for grant of mining lease for such area after the expiry of the period so specified: Provided further that upon successful completion of the auction, the Central Government shall intimate the details of the preferred bidder in the auction to the State Government and the State Government shall grant mining lease for such area to such preferred bidder in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government.] (5) The Central Government shall prescribe the terms and conditions, and procedure, subject to which the auction shall be conducted, including the bidding parameters for the selection, which may include a share in the production of the mineral, or any payment linked to the royalty payable, or any other relevant parameter, or any combination or modification of them. (6) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-section (5), the Central Government shall, if it is of the opinion that it is necessary and expedient to do so, prescribe terms and conditions, procedure and bidding parameters in respect of categories of minerals, size and area of mineral deposits and a State or States, subject to which the auction shall be conducted: 1[Provided that no mine shall be reserved for captive purpose in the auction.] (7) The State Government shall grant a mining lease to an applicant selected in accordance with the procedure laid down in this section in respect of such notified mineral in any notified area. 2[10BA. Grant of exploration licence for minerals specified in Seventh Schedule through auction.—(1) The provisions of this section shall not apply to— (a) the areas covered under section 17A; (b) the minerals specified in Part A of the First Schedule; (c) the minerals specified in Part B of the First Schedule where the grade of atomic mineral is equal to or greater than such threshold value as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time; (d) any land in respect of which the minerals do not vest in the Government. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sections 10B and 11, an exploration licence may be granted in any area by the State Government for the purpose of undertaking reconnaissance or prospecting operations or both in respect of any mineral specified in the Seventh Schedule. (3) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, and for reasons to be recorded in writing, amend the Seventh Schedule so as to modify the entries therein with effect from such date as may be specified in the said notification. (4) The State Government shall, after obtaining the previous approval of the Central Government, and in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government, notify the areas in which exploration licence shall be granted, subject to such terms and conditions as may be specified in the notification. (5) The Central Government may require the State Government to notify the area for grant of exploration licence within such period as may be fixed in consultation with the State Government, and in case the State Government does not notify the area within such period, the Central Government may, after the expiry of the period so fixed, notify the area for grant of exploration licence. (6) The State Government shall, for the purpose of granting exploration licence through auction by method of competitive bidding, including e-auction, select an applicant who fulfils the eligibility conditions as specified in this Act and grant exploration licence to such applicant.