A vacation bench of Justices M.R. Shah and Aniruddha Bose got annoyed over the allegations of illegal mining of minerals carried out by some companies in the absence of forest clearance from authorities concerned. It said without obtaining forest clearance from the authorities, how could the companies continue to mine under the garb of the high court's status quo order?
Bhubaneswar: The fate of nearly nine lakh sal trees in Uchabali, Gandhalpada and Kalimati areas of Guali panchayat under Joda block of Keonjhar district now hangs in balance. Not only Keonjhar, precious green cover in Sundergarh district is likely to be lost as the process of auction of 10 green-field mineral blocks in these two […]
New Delhi: Speaking to the media here on Saturday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced major reforms in the mining of minerals through a seamless composite exploration-cum-production regime. FM Nirmala Sitharaman said to introduce competition, transparency and the private sector participation in the coal sector, the government would go for the revenue sharing mechanism instead of […]
New Delhi: Providing relief to mining company Sarda Mines Pvt Ltd., the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed it to resume its mining operations in Odisha subject to deposit of Rs 933 crore towards environmental compensation by February 29. A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant also […]
Rourkela: Allegations of illegal stone mining and blatant flouting of forests and environment guidelines right under the nose of local administration in Sundergarh district have raised serious concerns. Such allegations of illegal mining have been levelled by Tehsildar of Bisra, Dilip Patnaik against one Pratap Prasad of Motikucha village under Bisra Police limits. “Illegal mining […]
Bhubaneswar: Mineral-based industries on Thursday sought concrete steps by the Odisha government for transfer of existing statutory clearances to successful bidders in the auction of iron ore and other mines to prevent scarcity of raw materials and disruption of production after March 2020 when the lease of many mines will lapse. The state government should […]
By Sandeep Sahu Weeks before the 2004 elections, I happened to be Kalahandi. After completing the day’s work, I happened to meet a few people who had just returned from the Gram Sabha earlier in the day where consent was wrested for setting up of the 1 million ton per annum (MTPA) capacity bauxite refinery […]
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to file a reply on a plea seeking the cancellation of 358 iron ore mining leases which were allocated, or their duration extended, without any fresh evaluation or by adopting the due auction process. A bench of Justices S.A. Bobde and B.R. Gavai asked the […]
Bhubaneswar: Former Union Minister Srikant Jena on Tuesday demanded that tainted mine owners be debarred from bidding for mines auction in Odisha and steps taken to protect the interest of the state and its people. “Necessary steps must be taken to ensure that all the tainted mine owners who were involved in illegal mining and […]
Talcher: Residents of the town today took to streets and called for a city-wide shutdown protesting mismanagement in mining operations after a house near the town police station suddenly developed a large crater on the floor triggering panic among the locals yesterday night. Hundreds of local residents blocked main roads in the town and staged […]
Keonjhar: The mining lessees in Keonjhar will depose before Collector’s court today to present their side in connection with the illegal mining case in the State. The owners include S C Padhi, B D Patnaik, Bhanja Minerals, Faker, Mineral trading syndicate, Mid-east steel, Arayani and sons & S N Dammohapatra. All the mining lessees have […]
A few months back, a friend from the university days called up. I was a trifle intrigued because he rarely bothers calling though we live and work in the same city. The friend, a senior executive in a leading corporate house with stakes in the lucrative mining sector in the state, started with small talk […]
Bhubaneswar: Odisha has emerged top among all states in raising and utilising funds under District Mineral Foundation (DMF), said Chief Secretary AP Padhi today. According to Padhi, the Union Cabinet Secretary who held a review meeting with all chief secretaries via video conference hailed Odisha’s performance. “He appreciated our collection mechanism and asked other States […]
Bhubaneswar: With an aim to properly utilise funds under district mineral foundation (DMF), the Odisha government has decided to create a ‘Shelf of Projects’ in five districts. After a meeting with Collectors of five districts at the State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar today, Chief Secretary AP Padhi said, “The district administration has been asked to prepare […]
Bhubaneswar: Keeping in view large scale pollution in mining areas and major junction routes in the state, the steel and mines department will soon have ambient air quality monitoring systems soon. This was decided at a high level state task force meeting convened under the chairmanship of chief secretary at the State Secretariat through video […]
Bhubaneswar: In a bid to curb illegal mining and transportation of minor minerals including sand in Odisha, Mines minister Prafulla Mallick today said differential global positioning system (DGPS) survey will be undertaken at all 314 tehsils by March next year and i3MS system will be installed to generate computerised permit. Talking to mediapersons after holding […]
Cuttack: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch (CB) today arrested mining trader Pravanjan Mohanty in connection with a Rs 4.5 crore bank fraud. The anti-corruption wing of CB on Monday arrested Mohanty, the managing director of JBS Mineral and Overseas firm, following an order from the Orissa High Court. As per […]
Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has made the installation of GPS (global positioning system) in the mineral transporting trucks mandatory to bring transparency in mines business, said steel and mines minister Prafulla Mallik. The GPS device, which is linked to the Integrated Mines and Mineral Management System or i3MS software, aims to stop illegal transportation of minerals, […]
Cuttack: Hundreds of workers staged a dharna in front of the plant of India Metals and Ferro Alloys (IMFA) at Choudwar in Cuttack protesting the order of the Odisha Pollution Control Board to ban mining at the Mahagiri and Sukinda Chromite mines of the company. Ban on mining by IMFA, the only large scale industry […]
Bhubaneswar: In a bid to bring transparency in mining, Odisha government has made installation of Global Positioning System (GPS) mandatory for all trucks involved in transporting of minerals from today onwards. Steel & Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick informed that no vehicles in Odisha can transport minerals without GPS from today. At present, 32,000 trucks are […]
Lanjigarh: The anti-Vedanta protests reared head once again after the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti staged a demonstration in front of the company’s Lanjigarh plant. Hundreds of tribals along with members of various forums took out a rally and staged a dharna in front of the plant. According to sources, the protestors also tried to break the […]
Talcher: Dust and smoke pollution menace arising out of rampant mining activities in Talcher has put on a demonic form throwing normal life of city denizens out of gear while resulting in different kinds of diseases. As per sources, the Central Pollution Control Board in 2009-10 had earlier identified Talcher-Angul among the critical polluted category […]
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today sought response of the Centre and Odisha government on Vedanta Ltd’s plea against a rule that mandates that mining lessees have to pay contributions to district mineral foundations. Vedanta Ltd, a subsidiary of UK-based Vedanta group, has challenged Rule 3 of the Mines and Mineral (Contribution to District […]
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has granted leases of 18 mines for a period of 50 years including a bauxite mining lease to State-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). The state government has already received Rs 500 crore from these concerned mines as stamp duty and in future it will receive more revenue in way of mining […]
Bhubaneswar: “Environmental protection has now become a matter of grave concern for human existence. Therefore, protecting and conserving environment should be a constitutional mandate,” said Dr Justice Arijit Pasayat, Vice-Chairman, Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money and former Judge of the Supreme Court. Delivering the 16th edition of Nalco Foundation Day Lecture Series on […]
Bhubaneswar: In order to streamline the mining activities in the state, the Odisha government on Saturday said Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices will be installed in the trucks carrying minerals by December 28 this year. “GPS tracking devices will be installed in the trucks used for mineral transportation. We will track the movements of […]
New Delhi: In a path-breaking move, the mines ministry today came out with mining surveillance system (MSS), a pan-India surveillance network using latest satellite technology, to check illegal mining. Launching the system, Mines Minister Piyush Goyal hoped the technology will ensure sustainable utilisation of the country’s mineral resources. “MSS will trigger an alarm whenever there […]
Bhubaneswar: Despite a world-wide sluggish market in metal sector, Navratna PSU Nalco has registered an impressive performance in the first half of 2016-17 fiscal. While bauxite mining was up by 23.6 per cent at 35.08 lakh tonnes as compared to the corresponding six months of the previous financial year, the alumina hydrate production rose by […]
With above Rs 1,100 crore in hand under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), the Odisha government today asked the District Collectors to make judicious utilisation of the funds meant for poor people living in the mining areas
Bhubaneswar: The State Cabinet on Monday allowed state-run Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) to export iron ore, a decision expected to help the company meet its revised ore production target for the current year. The Cabinet also approved the amendment in the long term ore linkage policy through OMC to clear its supply glut through other […]
The Odisha government on Saturday asked the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) to scale up production to meet the target of 8.64 million tonnes (mt) in the 2016-17 financial year
Bhubaneswar: The Centre has raised concerns over the lack of transparency in the auctioning of minor mineral resources like sand and stones. Participating in a program in Bhubaneswar, Union Secretary of Mines, Balwinder Kumar said a detailed discussion in the regard will be held with the Mines ministers of States on May 27. The secretary […]
Bhubaneswar: The Central government today passed the buck on to the State governments saying the delay in getting forest and environment clearances stems from the delay in filing of application by States. At a workshop in Bhubaneswar today, IG of Union Forest and Environment ministry Deepak Kumar Sinha said that State governments are not providing […]
Bhubaneswar: The utilization of money collected for the District Mineral Fund (DMF) will soon be utilized for the development of the districts affected by mining activities, informed Steel and Mines Secretary RK Sharma at the Minerals and Metals Odisha Conclave 2016 organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Odisha Chapter here today. “We have started […]
The State government today ordered reopening of three more closed mines basing on the recommendations of inter-departmental committee on mines. Talking to mediapersons, State Mines minister Prafulla Mallik said the lease holders have been asked to make additional lease deed of the concerned mines
The union government's decision, via an ordinance, to allocate all future mines through auctions is likely to affect some projects in Odisha, including Posco and Bhusan Power and Steel Ltd (BPCL), while it has come as a blessing to some companies sustaining to run their plants in the absence of raw materials in the state
A day after Presidential assent to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Ordinance, 2015, the Biju Janta Dal (BJD) on Wednesday termed the Centre’s act as undemocratic here
New Delhi: Refuting allegations by steel makers of a shortage in domestic iron ore supply, miners body FIMI has said a paucity in some regions is not because of the inability to produce more but due to a faulty policy of Odisha state. There has been surplus availability of ore since 2004-05, the Federation of […]
Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case of illegal mining in Odisha on Monday which will decide the fate of several mines operating under deemed licenses. Such a situation may occur if the apex court sticks to it’s own recent ruling on mining in Goa holding that deemed mining licences can be […]
With the Justice M B Shah Commission of Inquiry expressing concern over the pollution of river Baitarani because of mining, the Odisha government has asked the State Pollution Control Board to ensure covering of fines stocked near mines, official sources said