29/08/2026
๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ (๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ฅ)
The Opposition Party's position has consistently been that Bhutanโs mining sector has enormous untapped economic potential, but that potential cannot be fully realized under an outdated law. The current governing law, the Mines and Minerals Management Act 1995 was enacted more than three decades ago. The effort to update this outdated law intended for comprehensive legislative reform through the Mines and Minerals Bill 2020 during Third Parliament has not materialized.
The Opposition Party strongly believe that it is not in the national interest to delay any further of reintroducing or prioritizing the Mines and Minerals Bill in the Parliament. We understand that the delay has huge economic opportunity costs for the nation. We are fully aware of the issues and challenges faced by the mining sector. That is why we have included reintroduction of Mines and Minerals Bill as one of our key manifestos during the 2023 election.
During the First session of the Fourth Parliament, we also raised a question to the government on their plans, priorities and strategies for the mines and mineral sector to enhance the mine production and increase export of minerals and mineral products in order to reap the benefits at the right time. Our question has pressed the government to acknowledge the need to prioritize and reintroduce Mines and Minerals Bill in the Parliament.
The State of the Nation Report 2025 further listed the review and enactment of the Mines and Minerals Bill as part of the Governmentโs legislative agenda and we will again raise to the government the urgency in reintroducing Bill to the Parliament.
Article 1 of the Constitution clearly provides that mineral resources belong to the State and are to be regulated by law. The Constitution also embodies the principle that national wealth should benefit the people and that excessive concentration of wealth should be avoided. This constitutional principle has been central to the Opposition Partyโs mining policy proposal in our manifesto.
We have consistently advocated that mining governance should promote broad-based ownership, greater transparency and fair distribution of benefits rather than concentration in the hands of a few individuals or operators. Accordingly, our Mining Manifesto was aimed for:
(a) broad-based ownership structures involving the general public, state, and private sector;
(b) greater clarity and transparency in allocation of mining rights;
(c) transparent pricing mechanisms;
(d) improved community benefit-sharing arrangements;
(e) reforms to increase participation while preventing wealth concentration; and
(f) modern legislation that reflects international best practice including provisions to ensure minimal impact to our environment.
The Opposition Party has also proposed different governance models that seek to balance national ownership, private participation and public equity while ensuring that strategic minerals remain under appropriate national control. The objective is to increase efficiency, transparency, expand participation and ensure that the economic benefits of Bhutanโs mineral resources accrue to a wider section of society as envisaged by our constitution.
The Opposition Party fully recognize that mineral resources are our national asset. If properly governed, it will drive our economic growth, create jobs, enhance export and result in higher household incomes.
When the Bill is tabled to the Parliament, we are fully committed to ensuring that the new law encompasses broad-based ownership, protects interests of state, public and investors, and maximizes benefits to the nation and people of Bhutan rather than concentration in the hands of few individuals or operators, consistent with the provisions of the Constitution.
We strongly call for the government to prioritize and reintroduce Mines and Minerals Bill in the upcoming Sixth Session of the Fourth Parliament.
More than five years after it vanished from the legislative agenda without a vote, the long-debated Mines and Minerals Management Bill is expected to return to Parliament during the winter session, trailing behind it an unresolved question about how, and under what constitutional authority, it was shelved in the first place.
Read more at: https://kuenselonline.com/news/mines-and-minerals-bill-deferred-not-dead
