Bhubaneswar: Due to the state government’s initiatives for successful auction of mineral blocks, Odisha’s mining revenue has increased more than 3 times in 2021-22 financial year compared to the previous fiscal, said Prafulla Kumar Mallik, Minister of Steel and Mines and Works.
Speaking at the Minerals, Mining & Metals Conclave organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) in Bhubaneswar on Friday, the minister said Odisha has ensured a timely and effective implementation of the amended provisions of law and emerged as the leading state in successfully conducting auction of 37 mineral blocks so far including 22 expired mining leases.
“Steps are also being taken for intensifying the mineral exploration in the State so that more and more mineral blocks can be brought to readiness for auction. The government’s initiatives for successful auction of mineral blocks and timely operationalisation of the mining leases have resulted in constant growth of mining revenue for the state,” he said.
“As against Rs 11,020 crore and Rs 13,791 crore of mining revenue during 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years, the state has been able to collect Rs 49,858 crore during 2021-22. The collection of mining revenue during 2022-23 upto January 17, 2023 stands at Rs 28973.43 crore,” he added.
He further said Odisha accounts for country’s 92% chromite, 92% nickel, 52% bauxite, 24% coal and 33% iron ore and 35% manganese reserve. “During 2020-21, the total production of minerals was 293.64 million tonne with despatch of 325.49 million tonne, which has increased to 362.40 million tonne and 358.88 million tonne respectively during 2021-22. During the current year, the production and despatch of minerals upto January 17 stand at 302.06 million tonne and 295.07 million tonne respectively,” the minister said.
“From an installed capacity of about 4 million tonne per annum (MTPA) of crude steel in 1999-2000, Odisha has progressed to have 47 steel industries with total capacity of over 33 MTPA which is about one fourth of the country’s total installed capacity. Besides, the pellet plants in the state have an installed capacity of about 29 million tonne per annum and the sponge iron plants have an installed capacity of around 15 million tonne,” he said.
The theme of the Conclave was “Minerals, mining and metals sectors in a cooperative federalism structure: Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas”.
Among others, Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Mines; Sridhar Patra, Chairman & MD, NALCO; Tuhin Kumar Mukherjee, Chairperson, Minerals and Mining Committee, BCC&I and Advisor, Mineral Resource & Mining, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt Ltd; Pankaj Satija, MD, Tata Steel Mining; Kaushal K Sinha, Executive VP and Member of Management Board, MN Dastur & Co and Member, Minerals and Mining Committee and Metals Committee, BCC&I; Prabodh Mohanty, MD, SNM Group; Sauvick Mazumder, COO-Mining, JSW and Debadatta Dey, Manager, Mining, Tata Steel Joda spoke at the conclave.
Naveen Jindal, Chairman, JSPL addressed the conclave virtually on “Atmanirbhar Bharat: Building Infrastructure for the Growth of Mining and Metals Industries”. Pankaj Lochan Mohanty, CMD, MGM Minerals was also present.
