Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Monday reviewed measures to expedite the clearance process for auctioned mining blocks as part of efforts to accelerate growth in the state’s mining sector.
A high-level review meeting was held at Lok Seva Bhawan with Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Chief Secretary Anu Garg, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) Hemant Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary (Steel & Mines) Deoranjan Kumar Singh, senior officials of the Ministry of Mines, and other dignitaries attended the meeting.
The deliberations focused on speeding up the sanctioning and operationalisation of auctioned mining blocks in the state, along with improving the efficiency of regulatory approvals. The meeting also discussed the allocation of select mining blocks to State Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to enhance state participation in mineral development.
Infrastructure development, including the strengthening of rail and port connectivity for efficient mineral evacuation, also figured prominently in the discussions. The stakeholders further reviewed plans for the environmentally sustainable redevelopment of abandoned mines through modern technologies.
The meeting emphasised the integrated development of mining regions using District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds. It was decided to implement various developmental programmes under a “saturation mode” approach through the ‘CM Sampada’ scheme.
