Chiria mines feud may see out-of-court settlement

An end to the logjam on Chiria mines might be in sight. A joint determination of the real estate requirements of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) in Chiria mines will be done by the Jharkhand government and the Union steel ministry.

The Chiria mines have been a bone of contention between SAIL and private steel producers, including Mittal Steel, the world's largest steel producer, for a while.

These companies had said the iron ore deposits were much more than SAIL required and should, therefore, be parcelled out among other steel companies. SAIL has countered this by saying that it plans to raise steel capacity in Jharkhand and needs deposits to feed it.

Fed up at the impasse over Chiria mines, the Prime Minister's Office convened a meeting of officers from the state government and the Union steel and mines ministry on February 19.

Though more meetings are to be held, the PMO has asked the parties involved to work towards an out-of-court settlement on a matter that is under litigation.

While the requirements of SAIL are important, the PMO is conscious of the need of the state government to find the requisite private sector players to develop the mines. The state government's condition is that value addition must be done in the state.

The meeting was attended by Union steel and mines secretaries and the state government's chief secretary and secretaries of steel and mines in the state.