Cabinet says no to MMDR Ordinance

NEW DELHI: The Union cabinet did not approve the ordinance to amend the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act (MMDRA) of 1957 in its meeting earlier this week, two ministers told ET.

The ordinance was being brought to put in place a regime to auction other minerals on the lines of coal.

There have been media reports that some ministers have questioned the wisdom of using the ordinance option excessively. News website Firstpost reported on Thursday that finance minister Arun Jaitley had cautioned against resorting to this route frequently, following which the mining ordinance was shelved. This could not be independently verified by ET.

President Pranab Mukherjee has already questioned the government on its ordinance strategy twice.

He had enquired about why the government was using this route to amend the land bills and has also wanted to know about the urgency in issuing an ordinance to amend the motor vehicles law to legally permit e-rickshaws.