- Chief Minister holds review meeting with Geology and Mining Dept officials, gives guidelines
- Identify new mining blocks in UP to enhance mineral production, says Yogi
- Enforce strict measures against illegal mining, set up integrated mining surveillance system: CM
- Make necessary amendments in policies for auction of major blocks: CM Yogi
By Our Correspondent
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a high-level meeting with the officials of the Geology and Mining Department on Thursday to review the functioning of the department and provided necessary directions. The Chief Minister also examined the presentations made by officials of the department.
The Chief Minister mentioned that the work of dredging the state’s rivers, while complying with the orders of the NGT (National Green Tribunal), has been completed on time. He said that this will not only solve the problem of floods, but also help in channelizing the rivers.
In this sequence, the Chief Minister instructed the Mining and Irrigation Department to prepare a comprehensive action plan together. Additionally, he gave directions to identify new blocks for mining in the state to increase mineral production. The Chief Minister laid special emphasis on finding alternative resources and setting up brick kilns, instead of extracting soil from fertile land for brick production in the state.
Furthermore, the Chief Minister stressed the need for increasing mining leases in the state. He instructed the concerned authorities, including the Chief Secretary, Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner, Additional Chief Secretary (Forest), and Chief Secretary (Mining), to make serious efforts in providing environmental NOCs promptly. He also directed them to take stringent action against illegal mining and make the Integrated Mining Surveillance System more effective.
The Chief Minister stated that 39 checkpoints in various bordering districts of the state should use technical means to monitor the transportation of minerals, such as sand, morang (fine sand), boulders, and others, to ensure proper handling during transportation. He said that overloading must be strictly prohibited, and the number of checkpoints should be increased.
Furthermore, the officials were directed to determine the prices of minerals based on market rates. The Chief Minister also instructed them to make necessary changes in policies for the auction of major mining blocks.
The Chief Minister also gave directions to reduce the time required for river replenishment studies. He emphasized on increasing the production of M-sand to minimize the adverse environmental impact on rivers. He laid emphasis on providing alternatives like sand and moram for the state’s development projects to expedite their progress and reduce the ecological impact on rivers.
CM Yogi instructed the officials to simplify the process for approving new storage facilities in the state. He also asked them to determine the storage period for different minor minerals separately.
The officials informed the Chief Minister that the state is ready with 19 blocks for the auction of minerals such as phosphorite, potash, iron, platinum group, gold metals, sillimanite, andalusite, and limestone. Additionally, during the financial year 2022-23, the state produced 6762 lakh cubic meters of minor minerals, generating revenue of Rs 3367.26 crore. In the first quarter of the financial year 2023-24, revenue collection stands at Rs 1093.6 crore, which is 95.6 percent higher compared to the revenue in the same period of the previous year, depicting an increase of Rs 356.6 crore.
The contribution of minor minerals in the state’s mining revenue is 70 percent, of which resources like ordinary sand, moram, grit, and boulders contribute approximately 91 percent.
