Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has reserved six Khondalite mining blocks for OMC Limited, with the extracted mineral to be used for the development of Puri as a world heritage city.
According to a notification by the Steel and Mines Department, the six Khondalite blocks are located at Chandia, Sukhuaparha and Teligarh in Jajpur district, Kurumpada and Narangarh in Khurda district and Gobindapur in Cuttack district.
However, the reservation of the Kundakundi Kunda stone quarry at Narangarh is conditional upon the withdrawal of an ML application by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in favour of OMC Limited, the notification added.
It stated, “Mineral extracted from these blocks shall be supplied to the Works Department or any other agency designated by it for use in the projects to be undertaken under the scheme for ‘Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture’ (ABADHA) and/or projects for development of Puri as World Heritage City.”