Mineral auctions to take off in Odisha by October end

Auction of major minerals like iron ore and limestone are expected to take off in the state by the end of October, said a top official at the Union mines ministry. “We have been requesting states to go for auctions. Odisha has taken proactive steps to start auction of mineral blocks. The state has identified 16 blocks and the government here is hopeful to start the auction process by the end of October”, said Union mines secretary, Balvinder Kumar.

On auction modalities, he said, “The central government will be extending all support to states. Ultimately, auctions will be done by the state governments since states will be getting the premium amount as well as royalty. The bidders will have to get themselves registered for auction process.” Kumar said, the mines ministry had requested the state government to constitute District Mineral Foundation (DMF) in all the concerned districts as soon as possible.

“The Government of India will soon indicate the percentage of royalty that will go to the DMF. Some of the mineral rich districts in Odisha can get in the range of Rs 200-400 crore by way of contribution to DMF. We need to build capacity of such districts. The DMF funds will be utilised in the socio-economic development and welfare of the people”, he added.

Speaking on the state's readiness for auctions, state chief secretary G C Pati said, “We have initiated DGPS (Differential Global Positioning  System) survey for mineral blocks. The survey work is likely to be completed by the end of September. In the first phase, 16 blocks have been selected for auctions, which are expected to commence by the end of October.

Out of the 16 blocks, seven are at G2 exploration level. These are Kottametta and Uskalvagu limestone block (Malkangiri), Sagasahi-Ghoraburahni iron ore block (Sundargarh), Sagasahi East Iron ore block (Sundargarh), Dholta Pahad Iron ore block (Sudhargarh), Balia Pahad iron ore (Sundargarh), Jhumuka-Pathiriposhi iron ore block (Sundargarh) and Garamara limestone mines (Nuapada).

The rest nine blocks are at G3 exploration level. These are Mankarnacha iron ore (Sundargarh), Pureibahal iron ore (Sundargarh), Chandiposhi iron ore (Sundargarh), Lasarda manganese block (Keonjhar), Pacheri manganese block (Keonjhar), Kendudihi-Parulipada manganese block (Keonjhar), Khandadhar iron ore reserve (Sundargarh), Thakurmunda manganese mines (Sundargarh) and Utsavpalli-Thakurpalli manganese mines (Bolangir).The state government has already notified a committee under its development commissioner U N Behera to streamline auction of major minerals.

The committee's mandate is to monitor the preparatory work relating to auction of major mineral concessions including conduct of DGPS survey and preparation of tender documents.

The chief secretary said the state government has already come out with a mineral exploration policy realising the need for exploration. There are over 50 mines where estimation of mineral deposit was necessary. Central government agencies like Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) were being roped in by the state to carry out exploration work of these mines, said he.