BHUBANESWAR | June 27, 2017: THE State has taken the lead by installing GPS (Global Positioning System) in 35,740 vehicles engaged in transportation of minerals to bring transparency in the mining sector.
Setting December 31, 2016 deadline, the State Government had made GPS installation mandatory for all the mineral transporting vehicles as part of its effort to streamline mining activities.
“We had asked the owners of all vehicles engaged in transportation of minerals to instal GPS devices by the stipulated date. Many transporters resisted the move. After initial resistance, the transporters fell in line when they were told that only GPS enabled vehicles will be permitted to transport minerals,” said Minister of State for Steel and Mines Prafulla Mallick.
After successful implementation of Integrated Mines and Mineral Management System (i3MS), an IT-based mineral administration, GPS tagging of all mineral carrying vehicles is another major achievement in the mining sector, Mallick said.
The Minister, who reviewed the performance of the Steel and Mines department recently, said iron ore production has reached a record high of 102.66 million tonne (MT) in 2016-17, a growth of about 27 per cent compared to the previous year. Improving its own production rate of 80.8 MT in 2015-16, the State has crossed the 100 MT benchmark set for the last fiscal. The Minister said, the State has also set another record by dispatching 120.11 MT of iron ore against its target of 110 MT. Ore dispatch in the last fiscal was 81.66 MT.
The record production was possible due to the pro-active action of the State Government by timely extending validity of mining leases after enactment of the amended Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, Mallick said, he said.
He, however, admitted that the revenue earning from the mining sector was not upto expectation. The revenue earning from the sector in the last fiscal was `4,500 crore against the State target of `6,500 crore. He attributed the fall in revenue to drop in demand for iron ore and low price for the ore in the international market.
(Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/)