In a bid to put a check on illegal transportation of minerals from Jharkhand, the Mines and Geological Department has decided to start Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking of all vehicles used for transportation of minerals, Department’s Secretary Aboobacker Siddique said on Saturday.
Besides, the State will also make it mandatory for all vehicles carrying minerals to register with the concerned department. The data of registered vehicles will be integrated with the data of transport department in order to spot the vehicles that are running illegally, Siddique added.
“Illegal transport of minerals is a concern here and we are trying to come up with foolproof measures to curtail the practice. In many cases, transporters got auto rickshaws and even bikes registered for transport of minerals. The integrated process of spotting and intercepting such vehicles will put an end to illegal transportation of minerals,” Siddique said while addressing mediapersons on Saturday.
A major chunk of minerals from Jharkhand is transported by Railways and the Government also plans to start tracking of goods trains used for the purpose. “Around 70 per cent of Jharkhand’s coal is transported by the Railways. Our Chief Minister recently had a meeting with the Railway Ministry regarding the monitoring and tracking of goods trains and the process will soon be implemented,” said Siddique.
Jharkhand has more than 40 per cent of the country’s mineral reserves and has been on a mission to utilise the resources to bring development through industrial growth here. This year, the State has generated revenue of Rs 1,352.91 crore till the month of July. The revenue generated through mining has been increasing every year since 2014-2015, says figures with the Mining and Geological Department.
In 20154-2015, mining generated revenue of Rs 3,449.83 crore and in 2018-2019, the revenue increased to Rs 5,978.30.
Under the new Mineral Auction Rules, Jharkhand became the first State in India to start auctioning of mines. The State has already auctioned two gold mines, two limestone mines, two graphite mines and one iron ore mine under the new rules till date. Under the Jharkhand Sand Mining Policy 2017, the State has set two categories of sand mining. The first category, Siddique said, was for small sand ghats near river banks and villages. These sand ghats will be made available only for villagers and locals.
The second category, Siddique said, was only for commercial sand mining.
Since the constitution of District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT), the State has disbursed an amount of Rs 4,443.4 crore for welfare of people living in mining areas. The sum will be used for strengthening different schemes of the Government, officials said.
