Cement Energy and Environment

T' THE GREAT CLIMATE INJUSTICE The fears have come true. It was long-suspected the countries that produce the least greenhouse gases per-capita also tend to be the most vulnerable to climate change. The first global map of human vulnerability to climate change proves the same. The scientists used climate change data with censuses covering close to 97 per cent of the world's population. They found the most vulnerable are the people living Mining MONTEK OPPOSES BILL FOR SHARING OF MINING PROFITS Just when it seemed that a group of ministers under Pranab Mukherjee had broadly agreed to the New Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Bill, 2010, that asks companies to share 26 per cent of their net profit with the local population, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has raised a red flag, stating it would discourage investments and even prompt similar demands from other sectors. The 10-flag, stating it would discourage investments and even prompt similar demands from other sectors. The 1O-member GaM on MMDR Bill last met on December 3, 2010. This was its third meeting since it was set up in June. In a December 4 letter to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who chairs the GaM, Ahluwalia said: "If we end up with too high a cumulative royalty burden comp.ared with international standards, this will only in low-latitude, hot regions of the world, like central South America and much of Africa . The model will make it possible to pred ict more accurately and map out the effects of climate change in NEWS BRIEF discourage future investments in the mining sector. We cannot assume that the additional burden can simply be passed on to the consumer, since these minerals are freely importable and users will switch to imports." The Mines Ministry expects that a 26 per cent share in net profits of companies will rake in Rs 18,000 crore annually. Not surprisingly, the industry is completely opposed to the proposal and has been lobbying hard with the government for its dilution. In separate presentations to the Finance Minister, leading chambers Cll and FICCI had said upfront compensation to affected persons was the international norm. Profit sharing or giving 26 per cent equity will make the business unviable, both the industry organizations had argued . The proposal in the MMDR Bill was moved during the tenure of former mines Minister B K Handique. Though ministers in the GaM had reservations initially, a broad consensus had been arrived at by the end of the third meeting. With Dinsha Patel as the new specific regions across globe. Courtesy: Down to Earth, 1-15 April 2011, the Mines Minister, the GaM is expected to meet again soon to give final shape to the Bill. When contacted, Handique told The Indian Express: 'We need to bear in mind that the economic rent from a natural resource is a surplus that arises from the intrinsic qualities of the resource and is not just a product of sweat and capital of the entrepreneur. This clearly distinguishes a natural resource from other economic enterprises." Ahluwalia feared that if the proposal was implemented once Parliament approved the Bill , then "there would be no plan discipline on the use of these resources and the funds would be invested without reference to any development plan for the region". "More importantly, there is no guarantee that this expenditure will be additional since states can divert resources they would have spent on the district to other areas," he said. He argued that in case of long established existing mines, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to determine who was displaced . In case of PSUs such as Coal 15