For better inter-departmental co-ordination to monitor and check illegal mining and transportation of minerals, the Orissa government has decided to reconstitute the State Level Task Force (SLTF).
The chief minister Naveen Patnaik has approved a proposal of the steel and mines department in this regard.
A formal notification by the department is awaited, sources said. While the SLTF was headed by the steel and mines secretary earlier, now it will be headed by the chief secretary. The reconstituted body will have 15 members and will sit once in every quarter. It will review the co-ordination among various departments and action will be taken by the district level officials to check illegal mining.
“The chief minister’s approval has been obtained and the required notification for reconstituting the SLTF will be issued soon”, a senior official associated with the process said.
The reconstituted body will have home secretary, forest secretary, steel and mines secretary, commerce and transport secretary, transport commissioner, Director General of Police (DGP), Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and representatives from Orissa State Pollution Control Board and IBM. The state level enforcement squad (SLES) will work under the SLTF.
However, there will be no change in the composition or function of the district level task force headed by the district collectors.
The district level enforcement squad will continue to function under the district level task force. Meanwhile, the SLES is being further strengthened with creation of three section of force headed by a mining official.
Since it is not possible to check illegal mining activities by a particular department without involving other related departments, the SLTF is being reconstituted. The state government had a tough time during the last session of the state assembly pertaining to the mining scam worth hundreds of crores.
As a measure to check illegal mining and to streamline the mineral administration, the state government is working on a plan to upgrade the survey mapping being done by various departments.
It has decided to use the latest survey technology, reconcile the differences in the methods adopted by various departments, digitise the maps with the technical assistance of Orissa Space Applications Centre (ORSAC) and build computer data base checking the illegal mining activities, sources added.
