Panaji | Feb 23, 2016: As the deadlock continues over the transportation of iron ore due to the transport rate, Vedanta limited is contemplating on buying its own trucks to begin iron ore transportation.

Since November 2015, the state government, iron ore transporters and mining companies have been negotiating over the transportation rate, but have not been able to find any solution. Since December, transporters have stopped iron ore transportation in the state. A Vedanta officer said that the company has begun to consider buying new trucks. "It is not necessary that the trucks will be registered in the name of the company, but, we may find a third person in whose name the truck can be registered. That person should ply the truck as per the company's orders and not according to his own wishes," the officer added.

The officer said if the company purchases trucks and hires local drivers, then the company will only spend 3 per tonne per km whereas truck owners are demanding 11.27 per tonne per km. The officer also said that truck owners are divided into three groups. "The first group wants to take a risk but after falling into trouble they don't want to run their trucks. The second group is registered with Vedanta limited, but as there is a risk in running their trucks, they are waiting for the situation to cool down. The third group, which is a large number and not associated with Vedanta, doesn't want anybody to ply the trucks until their demands are met," the officer said.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)