New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Mines has opposed imposition of capping on the production of iron ore in Odisha stating that it would be highly detrimental towards achieving the common developmental goals of the nation. The ministry has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in pursuant to its order dated August 14 asking the Union government to decide whether a mining cap can be put in Odisha or not.
It told the apex court that Odisha is the backbone of iron ore production in the country and contributes more than half of the total production. Odisha’s share in the total iron ore production of the country was 54.46 per cent in 2022-23. “It is clear that no capping is warranted on the production of iron ore in the state of Odisha,” the affidavit said. It said steel being an important pillar in achieving the economic goals of the nation and in making India self-reliant, any such capping would be highly detrimental to achieving the common developmental goals of the nation. “Therefore, Ministry of Mines is of the considered view that no capping is warranted on production of iron ore in Odisha,” the affidavit said, adding, there was no requirement for any study on capping on iron ore production by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
While hearing the matter on Monday, the apex court asked the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to give its view on whether iron ore mining in Odisha can be capped, keeping sustainable development and intergenerational equity in mind. The ministry argued that the resources of any mineral are not static and with constant efforts at exploration the resources keep getting augmented. The ministry termed the petitioner’s contention about scarcity of iron ore in future as wholly unfounded. “In comparison to the total production of 1,724.73 million tonnes of iron ore in Odisha during the period 2000-01 to 2022-23, the resource augmentation of iron ore in Odisha has been 5,557.24 million tonnes during the corresponding period.
The resource augmentation of iron ore in Odisha has been at the rate of 3.22 times the rate of production of iron ore during 2000-01 to 2022- 23,” the ministry said. The Union ministry also asserted that out of total Obvious Geological Potential (OGP) area or potential mining bearing area identified by the Geological Survey of India in Odisha, only 28.48 per cent has been covered under exploration with assessment of mineral content. It added that 71.52 per cent of the OGP area for iron ore in the state is yet to be geologically explored to estimate the iron ore resources of the state.
