State may put 18 mines on block by fiscal end

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Bhubaneswar: The state government is planning to put up about 18 mining blocks, including iron ore mines, for auction this financial year, Union mines secretary Anil G Mukim said here, Friday.
After meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the mines secretary said more mines should be put on auction. “I have been given to understand by the state government that they would put up 17 to 18 mining blocks, including iron ore mines, for auction this year,” Mukim said.
Describing Odisha as the mining capital of the country, he said the state contributes substantially to mining activities.
The secretary also praised the state for collecting funds through the District Mineral Foundation (DMF). DMF fund is a contribution of mining leaseholders, which is being spent in mining-affected areas for the development of the local populace.
“Odisha is very proactive. Not only are more mining auctions taking place but more than `5,000 crore has been collected under DMF and projects are approved from the mining fund. Monetary mechanism has been put in place under DMF,” the Union mines secretary said.
He added that Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are major mining states. At a review meeting, issues related to the auctioning of mines, environment, forest clearances and ease of doing business in the mining sector were discussed. Mukim said the ministry of mines is taking all steps to remove bottlenecks and provide ease of doing business in the mining sector.
MINING REVENUE GROWS: The collection of revenue from mining sector has risen by about 72 per cent year on year by end of July, according to Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi. The chief secretary chaired a secretaries’ meeting at the secretariat Friday.
The total collection from mining royalty was about `3,039 crore against last year’s collection of `1,769 crore up to July end.
Reviewing fiscal performance of various departments up to July 2018, Chief Secretary Padhi directed the departments to implement developmental projects in convergence with DMF in major mining districts.
Listing the revenue collection from other departments, Padhi said vehicle tax grew to `571 crore till July against last years’ collection of `404 crore. The total revenue generation by end of July of 2017-18 was about `9,807 crore while the collection for the same period this year is `13,015 crore — an
increase by 33 per cent.