Bhubaneswar: Union Coal Secretary Anil Mukim on Friday said that about 17-18 mines including iron ore in Odisha would be auctioned this year.
“Odisha is the mining capital of the country. I have been given to understand by the state government that around 17-18 mines including the iron ore mines would be put up for auction this year, Mukim told mediapersons after a meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat here.
The Union Coal Secretary further said several projects have been approved through the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) which has over Rs 5000 crore in its fund.
As per the available data, Odisha as the leading state in DMF collections has generated around Rs 5013 crore up to July 2018. So far, 8163 projects in the sectors of physical infrastructure, irrigation, energy, watershed, afforestation and others have been sanctioned under the fund. An amount of Rs 3047 crore has already been allotted against these projects.
