Arbitrary raising of ores from mines and subsequent transportation of this excess ore, burdening the existing road and rail infrastructure in the mine areas of Orissa could soon be history as the state government plans to put in place an Annual Plan that will set production targets according to available infrastructure and carrying capacity of environment.
The state government has decided to constitute a committee for this purpose which among other things will regulate production in the mining areas which have infrastructure bottlenecks.
"We cannot afford to raise production at the mines without factoring in the available infrastructure and also the environmental impact. It has been decided to form a committee which will devise an annual production plan for all mines beginning 2011-12, keeping in view these two factors. Accordingly, the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) will prepare mining plans”, the state Chief Secretary B K Patnaik told mediapersons after the state level task force meeting on mining.
The committee will have officials from the departments of mining, works, environment, port officials as well as representatives from IBM and end-users.
Manoj Ahuja, secretary (steel & mines) said, “The committee will make a detailed study of the available road and rail infrastructure at the mine areas. If we know the carrying capacity of road and rail infrastructure, we will be able to regulate production in the mine areas where there are infrastructure constraints”.
Meanwhile, the state steel & mines department has completed the construction of the boundary wall for three public railway sidings in the Joda mining circle. The boundary wall for the remaining public sidings is expected to be laid by December. Close Circuit Televisions (CCTVs) will be installed at these sidings.
The department also expects to issue automated 3-D transit permits to the transporters by July this year. It has also been decided to put up 11 modern weigh bridges in locations like Paradip, Jajpur and Baripada.
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On renewal of mining leases (RML), Ahuja said, “There are around 300 applicants for mining leases of which we have already disposed off close to 30 cases. We have asked the RML applicants for submitting digitized maps of their mining lease areas while applying for renewal”.
The steel & mines department has also requested the Union shipping ministry to ask the ports at Haldia and Vizag to furnish detailed information on ore exports, including the source of the ore and the destination to which it is supplied along with the quantum of ore shipped.
Presently, only Paradip port is providing information on ore exports. The port is exporting 9-10 million tonnes of iron ore annually.
The department has also asked the State Enforcement Squad to carry out regular inspections at the mining lease areas as well as crusher sites to detect any possible illegal mining activity.