The National Council will stick to the constitution while deliberating on the disputed clauses of the Mines and Minerals Bill at the joint sitting next week. During a press conference today, Eminent Member Dasho Tashi Wangyal said as per Article 1.12, the rights over the mineral resources, rivers, lakes and forest shall vest in the state, and are the properties of the state, which shall be regulated by the law. The contention over the bill is that the National Assembly supports the state’s rights over strategic mines and leaving non-strategic mines open to the private sector. On the other hand, the National Council wants the state mining corporation or state-owned enterprises to run all the mines.
Tshering Zam/Choni Dema
