Odishatv Bureau
Bhubaneswar: In a bid to curb illegal mining in the state, the government has decided to set up Project Management Unit (PMU) so as to provide real time status of mineral activities in the state.

This was decided in a review meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday here.

“All informations regarding mining, leasee, truck, transit permit and transportation routes will be available online”, said state Mines and Steel Minister Raghunath Mohanty.

As per the system, the mining areas have been divided into 14 circles which will be connected through state-wide area networking. With this, data related to 125 mines operational in the area will be recorded online.

The centralized database would also reflect the status of applications due for mining license renewal. Besides, the mineral transportation companies would have to place online application for every fresh consignment which would be approved after validation process is over.

Similarly, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) cards would be assigned to mining lease holders. These cards would be decrypted by enforcement squads with the mobile phones to access information. In the preliminary state, database of 57 mines under Joda circle have been uploaded. In the later stages, Koida and Jajpur circles would be integrated.

As per Central government guidelines, the details of the mining transportation companies would be enlisted with the steel and mines department following which they will be provided with secured login id and password. The leasee would then provide transaction details to the department at the end of every month.

“Emphasis is given to improve the system so that the department can clearly know about the mining and if there is any violation of guidelines. Steps are now being taken to keep track of these things”, said Chief Secretary of the state Bijay Patnaik.

Notably, the process is likely to be completed in the next 90 days.

Meanwhile, the department has completed the digitalization process of 61 companies having valid mining license.

It may be noted here that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed ORSAC, IT and forest department to assist steel and mines department in order to expedite the digitalization process.

scrollToTop