Odisha Govt To Auction Nine Mineral Blocks In July

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to auction nine greenfield mineral blocks in Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts in July.

The nine mineral blocks are Pureibahal iron ore block (Sundargarh), Chandiposhi iron ore block (Sundargarh), Jhumka Pathiriposi iron ore block (Sundargarh), Dholtapahad iron ore block (Sundargarh), Unchabali iron & manganese block (Keonjhar), Gandhalpada iron ore block (Keonjhar), Rengalbeda North-East iron ore block (Keonjhar), Netrabandha Pahar West iron ore block (Sundargarh)  and Kalimati manganese block (Keonjhar).

To expedite the sale process and operationalisation of mineral blocks, the Centre has asked mineral-bearing states to identify at least five new mining projects in their respective jurisdictions for auction with pre-embedded clearance on a pilot basis.

As per the new guidelines of the Ministry of Mines, the state government will set up a project monitoring unit (PMU) to complete the preparatory work for obtaining requisite clearances, approvals and related work.

The PMU will obtain all the clearances for starting a mining project and complete the process and obtain the forest clearance stage-I clearance. The mining plan will be approved by the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) within 15 days.