RTI for MP Department of Geology and Mining — Coal, Diamond Lease, Royalty and DMF Fund Records

Madhya Pradesh sits atop one of India's most diverse and commercially significant mineral belts — from the massive coal reserves of Singrauli and Shahdol that fuel northern India's power grid, to the Panna diamond mines that make MP India's only diamond-producing state, to the vast limestone and dolomite deposits of Katni and Jabalpur that supply the cement industry, and the manganese and copper wealth of Balaghat. With this mineral wealth come serious questions of public accountability: Are royalties being collected and remitted? Are mining leases being inspected and enforced? Are the billions collected into District Mineral Foundation (DMF) trusts actually reaching the tribal villages and mining-affected communities they were designed to serve? Are sand mining complaints on the Chambal, Betwa, Son, and Ken rivers being acted upon, or shelved? The Right to Information Act, 2005, is the citizen's primary tool to demand answers to each of these questions from the Department of Geology and Mining (Bhutattva Tatha Khanan Vibhag), Government of Madhya Pradesh.

The Legal Framework: MMDR Act, 1957 and MP's Statutory Mining Authorities

Mining in Madhya Pradesh operates under two overlapping legal frameworks. Major minerals — coal, diamond, limestone (when extracted for commercial use), dolomite, rock phosphate, manganese, copper, and iron ore — are governed by the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act), a Central legislation administered jointly by the Union Ministry of Mines and the State Government of Madhya Pradesh. Lease grants, royalty rates (Schedule II to the MMDR Act), and the District Mineral Foundation (Section 9B, MMDR Act as amended in 2015) are all MMDR-governed.

Minor minerals — sand, gravel, ordinary clay, building stone, and laterite — are governed by state-level rules: the MP Minor Mineral Rules, 1996 (and amendments), administered exclusively by the Directorate of Geology and Mining and the District Mining Officers. Sand is classified as a minor mineral, which is why sand mining complaints go to the District Mining Officer, not to a Central body.

The Directorate of Geology and Mining at Arera Hills, Bhopal, is the apex state-level authority. District Mining Officers (DMOs) operate at the district level and are the primary field authorities for lease monitoring, royalty collection, inspection, and minor mineral enforcement. Both are public authorities under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005.

MP's Mining Districts and What RTI Can Uncover

Singrauli, Umaria, Anuppur, Shahdol — The Coal Belt

The Singrauli coalfield straddles Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and is one of India's most intensively mined coal districts. The Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, operates multiple large open-cast coal mines in Singrauli district — Jayant, Khadia, Dudhichua, Amlohri, and Nigahi among others. NTPC's Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station (Singrauli) is one of India's largest power plants, directly dependent on this coal. Umaria, Anuppur, and Shahdol districts hold further coal-bearing areas under various leases.

RTI from the District Mining Office (Singrauli / Umaria / Shahdol) or the Directorate of Geology and Mining (Bhopal) can obtain: active coal lease details, annual production and dispatch figures, royalty deposited by NCL and other lessees, mine-wise inspection reports, and DMF corpus and utilisation records for each coal district. Affected communities — often Adivasi (Scheduled Tribe) villages — can use DMF RTI to check whether their villages appear in the beneficiary lists for DMF-funded health, education, and water supply projects.

Panna — The Diamond Belt

Panna district hosts India's only significant diamond-producing region. The NMDC Limited (a Central PSU under the Union Ministry of Mines) operates diamond mines at Majhgawan near Panna town under a Central mining lease. The MP State Mining Corporation (MPSMC) also holds diamond mining rights in the area. The Panna Tiger Reserve sits adjacent to the diamond belt, making environmental compliance — forest clearances, wildlife board approvals, and ecological mitigation plans — a critical dimension of public accountability.

Note for Second Appeal routing: Because NMDC is a Central PSU, RTI applications filed with NMDC's CPIO go to the Central Information Commission (CIC) on Second Appeal. RTI applications filed with the CPIO of the MP Directorate of Geology and Mining or the District Mining Officer (Panna) regarding state-issued leases, royalty share, or local inspections go to the Madhya Pradesh State Information Commission (MPIC) on Second Appeal.

Katni, Jabalpur, Sagar — The Limestone and Dolomite Belt

Katni (formerly Mudwara) is one of India's most important limestone and dolomite centres, with dozens of operational quarries supplying major cement manufacturers. Jabalpur and Sagar districts also have substantial limestone extraction. RTI on quarry lease details, production declarations, royalty payments, and inspection records is routinely sought by environmental groups, competing quarry operators, and citizens concerned about blasting damage to nearby villages and water sources.

Balaghat — Manganese, Copper, and Wainganga Sand

The Balaghat manganese belt is among the oldest in India. The Malanjkhand copper mine in Balaghat district is operated by Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), a Central PSU — again, RTI against HCL's CPIO would go to the CIC on Second Appeal, while RTI against the District Mining Office (Balaghat) for local lease and inspection data goes to MPIC. The Wainganga River flowing through Balaghat is a site of significant sand mining activity.

The Sand Mining Problem: Chambal, Betwa, Son, Ken, Narmada, Wainganga

Illegal sand mining — extraction of river-bed sand without a valid minor mineral lease or in excess of the permitted quantity — is one of the most visible governance failures in Madhya Pradesh's rivers. The Chambal (which also forms the MP-Rajasthan boundary), Betwa, Son, Ken, and Narmada are all severely affected. Sand mining ATR (Action Taken Report) RTI requests are among the most commonly filed and most frequently unanswered applications in the state's mining districts — making them also among the most important for Second Appeal action before the MPIC.

What Information RTI Can Obtain

Filing an RTI with the Directorate of Geology and Mining (Bhopal) or the District Mining Office can produce:

1. Mining lease register: The complete list of active, expired, surrendered, and cancelled leases in a district — lessee name, mineral, area, lease period, and status
2. Royalty payment records: Quarterly extraction reports filed by lessees, assessed royalty, actual payments, arrears, and recovery action taken
3. Mine inspection reports: Reports of inspections by District Mining Officers — compliance observations, violations noted, and corrective directions issued
4. Illegal mining complaint ATRs: The official Action Taken Report on complaints about illegal sand mining or encroachment beyond lease boundaries — inspection dates, FIR details if any, and penalty imposed
5. DMF fund flow and project register: Corpus collected from each mine, projects sanctioned, expenditure, beneficiary villages, and governing committee composition and minutes
6. Environmental clearance (EC) and forest clearance (FC) status: Whether required Central and State-level clearances are in place for the lease area
7. Show Cause and cancellation notices: Whether any lease is subject to cancellation proceedings and the stage of those proceedings
8. Aggregate production statistics: District-wise or mineral-wise annual production and royalty collection data — useful for researchers and journalists tracking MP's mineral economy

Where to File Your RTI Application

The correct authority depends on the information sought:

Directorate of Geology and Mining, Arera Hills, Bhopal (state-level and policy matters):

• State-wide production and royalty statistics
• Policy decisions on lease grants or cancellations
• Appeals against District Mining Office RTI responses
• Matters involving the MPSMC or state-level lease decisions

District Mining Officer (DMO), relevant district (district-level operational records):

• Specific lease details for a named mine or lessee
• Royalty payment records for a specific lessee or mine
• Sand mining complaint ATRs for a specific river stretch or village
• Inspection reports for mines in the district
• DMF corpus and project utilisation for that district

When in doubt about jurisdiction, file with the District Mining Officer for any matter involving a specific mine, lease, or complaint in the district — they hold the operational records. File with the Directorate at Bhopal for aggregate data, policy records, or where the District Mining Officer has not responded.

How to File

Online (Recommended)

File through the national RTI Online Portal at rtionline.gov.in. Select the Ministry/Department as the relevant Madhya Pradesh Government department. Pay the ₹10 fee via net banking, debit card, or UPI. Note your registration number — the 30-day response clock runs from receipt.

By Post or In Person

Send a written application by registered post (acknowledgement due) to the CPIO at the Directorate of Geology and Mining, Arera Hills, Bhopal – 462011, or the District Mining Office in the relevant district. Enclose an Indian Postal Order (IPO) of ₹10 drawn in favour of the Accounts Officer / Pay & Accounts Officer of the relevant department. BPL cardholders are exempt from the fee — attach a copy of the BPL card.

Drafting Tips

• State the specific lease number, lessee name, mineral type, and district whenever possible — vague requests lead to partial or delayed responses
• For sand mining ATRs, specify the river name, the village or revenue survey area, and the approximate dates of the complaint
• For DMF queries, specify the financial year and the district
• Request both the information and certified copies of the underlying documents (inspection reports, meeting minutes, expenditure certificates) as applicable
• If the information is held by more than one office (e.g., a lease file at the District Mining Office and aggregate royalty data at the Directorate), file separate applications with each authority

Appeals If You Do Not Receive a Response

First Appeal — Section 19(1), RTI Act, 2005

If the CPIO does not respond within 30 days of receipt of your application, or provides an incomplete or evasive reply, file a First Appeal with the First Appellate Authority (FAA) designated by the public authority. The First Appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date of decision or expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable. No fee is required. The FAA must pass an order within 30 days, extendable to 45 days with recorded reasons.

Second Appeal — Section 19(3), RTI Act, 2005

If the FAA's response is absent, delayed, or unsatisfactory, file a Second Appeal with the Madhya Pradesh State Information Commission (MPIC), Bhopal, within 90 days of the FAA's decision or the expiry of the FAA's response deadline. No fee is required. The MPIC is constituted under Section 15 of the RTI Act, 2005, as the state-level commission for Madhya Pradesh. The Central Information Commission (CIC) has no jurisdiction over MP state government bodies including the Department of Geology and Mining, the Directorate, and all District Mining Offices.

The MPIC can direct the CPIO to furnish the information and impose a penalty of ₹250 per day, up to ₹25,000, on the CPIO personally under Section 20 of the RTI Act, 2005, if it finds that the CPIO refused to receive an application, failed to provide information within the prescribed period, knowingly gave incorrect or misleading information, obstructed the furnishing of information, or destroyed records that were the subject of an RTI request. The penalty is recovered from the CPIO's salary.

Mining lease records, royalty payment data, inspection reports, sand mining complaint ATRs, and DMF fund utilisation statements are standard administrative records held in the normal course of the Department's statutory functions. None of them attract any exemption under Section 8 or Section 9 of the RTI Act. If a CPIO claims exemption for such records, a First Appeal pointing out the absence of any applicable exemption ground — and the clear public interest in mining accountability — is likely to succeed.

A Note on Central PSUs in MP: NMDC, NCL, HCL

Several of the largest mining entities operating in Madhya Pradesh are Central Public Sector Undertakings:

• NCL (Northern Coalfields Limited) — Coal India subsidiary operating Singrauli coal mines → RTI to NCL's CPIO → Second Appeal: CIC
• NMDC Limited — Diamond mines at Panna, Majhgawan → RTI to NMDC's CPIO → Second Appeal: CIC
• Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) — Malanjkhand copper mine, Balaghat → RTI to HCL's CPIO → Second Appeal: CIC
• NTPC Limited — Power plants using Singrauli coal (NTPC does not hold mining leases, but is a consumer) → RTI to NTPC's CPIO → Second Appeal: CIC

For information about how these Central PSUs interact with the State's royalty and DMF system — the amounts they deposit into the DMF, the inspection access granted to state officers, or their environmental compliance filings with the MP State Pollution Control Board — file with the relevant state authority (District Mining Office or MP PCB) whose records on the Central PSU's local impact fall within state jurisdiction.

By combining RTI applications to both the Central PSU and the State Directorate of Geology and Mining, citizens, journalists, and researchers can build a comprehensive picture of mining accountability in Madhya Pradesh's most significant mineral districts.