Panaji | April 26, 2016 : In order to bring in transparency and to streamline the mining operations vis-a-vis iron ore transportation, the directorate of mines and geology (DMG) has decided to launch a mobile phone App, which will not only help the government officials but also the general public in keeping a check on the mining activities in the state.

Members of the public will be able to register complaints about mining trucks involved in illegal transportation of ore by mentioning the registration number of the concerned truck with the help of the App.

Director of Mines and Geology Prasanna Acharya on Monday told this daily that initially the government had planned to create the App only for the officials of mines, transport, police departments and traffic police cell. However, now it has been decided to allow the general public to gain access to the APP. Acharya said that the APP is in its final stages and will be launched soon. Public will be able to download it free of cost.

Even after the government has brought in regulations to streamline mining operations in the state, there have been allegations of illegal transportation of ore. The government has, therefore, decided to launch the APP.

Elaborating on the concept, Acharya said that the APP would help officials take action against violators in the mining sector, with public participation. “If anybody suspects illegal mining transportation or operations going on, he or she can go to the APP and track the alleged involvement of mining truck by mentioning the vehicle number and inform the department to take action,” he said, adding that after verifying the complaint, the mines department would be in a position to take action against the concerned violator.

Meanwhile, implementing the rule to bring in discipline in mining traffic, the DMG has from Sunday onwards started an aggressive drive against mining trucks, which have been crossing the speed limit of 40 km per hour.

On Sunday, the DMG barred 539 trucks from transporting ore for having violated the rule of mining traffic, followed by 2,032 trucks, which were barred on Monday. Acharya said that the drive will continue in the future in order to bring in discipline in the mining sector.

As per the new rule, if a mining truck violates the speed limit rule for the first time, it will be barred from transporting ore for a day. If it violates the rule twice, it would be barred for two days. It the truck violates the rule for a third time, then it will be barred for three days, for a fourth-time violation, the ban will be for five days and for violation of the rule for a fifth time, it will be barred from transporting ore for seven days. A six-time violation will lead to the truck being banned for a 15-day period, while for a seventh violation of the rule, the truck will be banned for a month. If the truck violates the traffic rule for an eight time, the permission of the truck would be suspended for two or more months.

Acharya said that the violation of the speed limit rule can be tracked from the Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) platform from his office and accordingly the department sends an SMS to the owner of the truck informing suspension of permission as per the number of violations. At present, over 4,900 mining trucks have been registered with the DMG for transportation of iron ore, out of which some are off the road.

(Source: http://goacom.com/)