GoM on Corruption for Acceptance of Ashok Chawla Committee Recommendations on Allocation of Natural Resources

Law Ministry asked to Frame Concrete Proposals on State Funding of Elections


The Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted by Government to consider measures that can be taken by the Government to tackle corruption, under the chairmanship of Union Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, has in its recent meeting, recommended acceptance of a number of recommendations made by the Expert Committee on Allocation of Natural Resources(CANR), headed by former Finance Secretary, Shri Ashok Chawla.

The Expert Committee, constituted by Government on the recommendations of the Group of Ministers in January, 2011, to recommend measures required for enhancing transparency, effectiveness and sustainability in utilisation of natural resources, had submitted its report on 31st May, 2011. The Expert Committee was mandated to -

(a) identify key natural resources being allocated by Government;

(b) examine the efficacy and suitability of existing legal and regulatory framework and rules rules being employed in the allocative processes; and

(c) recommend measures for enhancing their sustainabilityand improving transparency and effectiveness of the allocative processes.

The Ashok Chawla Committee identified natural resources such as coal, minerals, petroleum, natural gas, spectrum, forests, water and land, wherein the Union Government had a major role to play in articulating the policy framework or otherwise influencing the manner of their allocation. The recommendations made by the Ashok Chawla Committee were considered by a Committee of Secretaries (COS) headed by the Cabinet Secretary and the recommendations of the COS were placed before the Group of Ministers.

The important recommendations of the CANR relate to standardising the format of minutes for all Standing Linkage Committee (Long-Term) meetings, particularly for meetings where allocation decisions are made; the proposed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) [MMDR] Bill, 2011 which has been drafted to replace the existing MMDR Act, 1957 may accommodate a variety of allocation mechanisms – both for areas of known and unknown mineralization – provided they are open, transparent and competitive; the creation of an National Data Repository (NDR) for petroleum exploration may be expedited and an open acreage licensing policy (OAL) allowed to operate on the NDR; all future telecom licenses should be unified licenses and spectrum de-linked from the license; a reform linked capacity building scheme should be initiated for State forest Departments, with a view to improving accessibility of information, improving the predictability and reducing the time taken for clearances; a comprehensive national legislation should be enacted on water related issues; and, the land available with Central Government Ministries and Departments should be inventorised and all alienation thereof should take place through competitive and transparent e-auctions.

The Group of Ministers also called upon the Ministry of Law to formulate concrete proposals on Constitutional and statutory amendments which are required for introducing reforms relating to State Funding of Elections. The Group of Ministers had, in its meeting held on 6th September, 2011, asked the Ministry of Law to report progress in the consultative process already initiated by it. In the 30th September, 2011 meeting of the GoM, after the Law Ministry made a presentation on the subject, the Group of Ministers directed the Law Ministry to formulate specific proposals for consideration and decision of the GoM, excluding such areas where consultation with political parties was required.

It may be recalled that the Group of Ministers had, in its First Report submitted to the Government, made several recommendations on fast tracking of cases relating to corruption against public servants. The recommendations made by the GoM in its First Report were accepted by the Government in the first week of September and the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has issued orders for implementing a number of these recommendations, while necessary action is under way for implementing others which require amendments in statutory rules.