Chhattisgarh govt to auction 16 iron ore, limestone mines in next 2-3 months
The move was announced on Friday during a virtual meeting of Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi.
The Chhattisgarh government is planning to auction 16 new blocks of iron ore and limestone in the next two to three months, a press release issued by the state government stated.
The move was announced on Friday during a virtual meeting of Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi. Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel was also present during the meeting.
During the meeting, the chief minister also requested Joshi to amend the Centre’s order to make the district collector the ex-officio chairman of the District Mineral Foundation (DMF).
The Union minister appreciated the state government for proactively taking steps on the direction of the Centre to bring more mines into auctions, the release stated.
It further added that the priority of the Centre is to allocate mines through the auctioning process. Under this, Chhattisgarh has been preparing to auction 16 new blocks of iron ore and limestone in the next 2-3 months under the first phase, the release stated.
The Union minister said Chhattisgarh is the first state in the country to auction mine blocks as per the direction of the Government of India.
In a series of tweets, Joshi said, “Following up on mining reforms, had a meeting with CM of Chhattisgarh, Shri @bhupeshbaghel ji. Deliberated on several ongoing issues pertaining to coal and mineral mining in the state. Government is working with state administration to facilitate early operationalisation of auctioned mines.”
In another tweet, he said, “Hon’’ble CM has assured to auction more than 16 blocks over the next 2 months. These will be from long-standing blocked mines that have reserves of 1,192 MT worth nearly ₹1.9 lakh crore.”
Emphasising the promotion of iron-ore based industrialisation in Bastar, chief minister Baghel urged Joshi to reserve Bailadila iron ore deposit No. 1 (Dantewada district) in favour of Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC).
Baghel said industrialisation can prove to be a better tool to eliminate Naxalism from the Bastar region, the Union minister assured the CM of taking necessary initiatives in this direction.