The Ministry of Mines has said amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, were made through the Jan Vishwas Act to decriminalise minor violations like violation of rules, and clarified that illegal mining continues to attract criminal penalties according to the Act and the rules.
“The MMDR Act, which provides for recovery of economic value of mineral along with rent, royalty or tax for illegal mining, remains unaffected by the Jan Vishwas Act or the Adjudication Rules,” the ministry said in a statement.
The civil penalties provisioned in the Mines and Minerals Adjudication of Penalties Rules, 2026, notified on July 30, do not extinguish criminal liabilities for illegal mining under the MMDR Act as well as any liability for violation of environmental laws, forest laws, or other applicable legislation, the ministry clarified.
“In a scenario where there is violation of rules and illegal mining, the violator will attract both civil liability as well as criminal liability for illegal mining,” the ministry said.
The provisions of the MMDR Act regarding illegal mining are unchanged and remain unaffected by the adjudication rules. According to Section 21 (1) of the Act, illegal mining is punishable with imprisonment up to 5 years and a fine up to ₹5 lakh per hectare, while under Section 21 (2) penalty of imprisonment is up to 2 years or fine up to ₹5 lakh or both for contravention of the rules made under Section 23C.
The ministry said state governments are empowered to make rules for prevention of illegal mining, transportation and storage under Section 23C. Section 21 (5) of the Act deals with recovery of cost of minerals along with rent, royalty or tax for mining without lawful authority. The adjudication rules only cover violation of rules other than the rules for illegal mining, it added.
The ministry also said violation of rules has now been converted from criminal offence to civil penalty, and a mechanism in line with the earlier provision of compounding of the offences for summary disposal has been introduced with the rationale to secure compliance.
