Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s vision is to become a global leader in the mining industry, setting benchmarks for sustainable and responsible mining practices, said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday.
Speaking at the 3rd National Mines Ministers’ Conference held at Konark, the chief minister said from responsible extraction of natural resources to their sale and utilisation, Odisha is playing a leading role in sustainable development in terms of adopting sustainable mining practices across its operational mining areas.
“By leveraging our mineral wealth, investing in technology and prioritising environmental and social responsibility, the state government aims to make Odisha truly Utkarsh,” he added.
Stating that it was befitting that the mines ministers’ conference was being held in Odisha, one of the richest mineral source states in the country, he said, “Three states, Odisha, Chhattishgarh and Jharkhand, produce and supply more than two-thirds of all base metals demand of the country and we are in the eastern part of the country, which has been rightly described as Purvadoya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
In order to fulfill the dream of becoming a developed nation by 2047, as envisioned by the Prime Minister, these three states will fuel the growth and Odisha will play a major part in this.
“We have to find a way to make mining sustainable for a long time without harming the environment. For that, we have to find a way of consumption-led mining activities, from the present export-led mining economy,” Majhi said.
“Odisha’s contribution to India’s economic prosperity is unparalleled and we take great pride, in being a key driver of our nation’s growth. I just learned that there is a possibility of the much needed and very scarce lithium in one of the districts of Odisha. This is definitely good news for E-battery industry,” he said.
He further said, “Odisha is enriched to have almost every type of materials including coal. But unfortunately, till now, the true potential of Odisha has not been found because of many reasons including political will. All these things are going to change for the betterment of the people of the state.”
From just one major steel plant at Rourkela, now Odisha has more than three dozens of major steel plants and is rightly called the Steel Capital of India, accounting for over 25% of India’s total steel output. With a projected growth in annual steel production, the state’s steel output, is expected to increase substantially by 2030, he added.
The chief minister said of late, there has been a debate on industrialization verses environment protection. These two are seen as antithetical to each other which is far from truth. Now-a-days, greener technology are available which are making industrialization greener and cleaner.
Take for example power generation. Before 2014, India’s main source power was thermal which was more than 60% of the total mix. When Modi Ji said India would produce 500-Gigawatt renewable energy from non-fossil energy, even experts were laughing at him.
But, Modi Ji had the last laugh. Now India has already passed 200 Gigawatt of non-renewable energy and is well poised to meet, the target of 500 Gigawatt by 2030.
“Now, the next big thing will be Green Hydrogen in which Odisha is going to be a major player in the coming years. So, in a nutshell, both development and environment can co-exist and it is our responsibility to gift a cleaner and greener earth, to our future generation.” he added.
“One thing I must flag here for all the states. I have seen that people living in and around mining areas have not yielded the benefits. We have to keep in mind that people living in those areas must be taken care by the state as well as those involved in mining activities,” he said.
Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy, Deputy Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh and Telengana, Mines Ministers of 11 states, industry leaders, officials of the Ministry of Mines, representatives of state governments and various delegates from mines sector attended the conference.
