To enforce the Mines and Minerals Act, the Mines and Minerals Bill of Bhutan 2020 proposes establishing a Mining Regulatory Authority. The purpose of this establishment however is questioned by some parliamentarians in the National Council, today.
Members of Parliament (MP) in the National Council said the establishment of the new regulatory authority is an extra expenditure and questioned its purpose.
“Up until now, all the mining responsibilities were taken by the Ministry and Department. And we all know that we do not have much budget. It is all aid and fund that big countries give us. Before the work which was done by one department under the ministry, now if we have one department and one regulatory body, I wonder how things will go?” raised Ugyen Tshering, the Paro MP.
“All three important institutions are under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA) with their respective roles and functions which may create a conflict of interest while performing their duties,” said Ugyen Namgay, the Haa MP.
As per MoEA Minister Loknath Sharma, separating these agencies are for means to assign specialised people for specific work.
“When service and regulatory are mixed together, it is very inconvenient. That’s why policymakers should be focused by the department while monitoring should be done by the authority. This way, they can specialise in their own field of work. Like an inspector should be in the regulatory authority but the one with ideology and plans have to be in policymaking,” Lyonpo said.
As per the Mines and Minerals Bill of Bhutan 2020, the Mining Regulatory Authority will regulate and monitor surface collection, and mining operations and issue permit for short term mining among many other functions.
Samten Dolkar/Yeshi Dorji
