Orissa asked to beef up manning at check gates to curb illegal ore transport

The Union ministry of mines has urged the Orissa government to overcome all logistical constraints and put in place 24x7 manning arrangements at the weigh bridges and check gates of railway sidings to rein in transportation of illegally mined ore in the state.

The mining scam has caught the state government in a tight spot and the state has now been asked to beef up measures to curb illegal transport of ore through the check gates due to laxity on manning arrangements.

The issue of insufficient manning of weigh bridges and check gates at railway sidings was raised by the Railways at a recent meeting on 'Measures Taken by States to Curb Illegal Mining' held recently in New Delhi.

The Railways officials had stated at the meeting that there has been an increase in loading time due to insufficient manning of weigh bridges and check gates at railway siding. The Railways demanded that the manning of these points should be 24x7.

Manoj Ahuja, secretary (steel and mines), Orissa government stated that there are logistical constraints in manning these points 24x7 but assured to look into the matter.

The Union mines secretary S Vijay Kumar asked the state government to resolve the problem expeditiously through talks with the Railways to ensure that the manning of the weigh bridges and sidings are 24x7 failing which the Department of Mines, Government of India will be forced to convene a meeting on the issue.

Kumar expressed that since Orissa was getting a huge royalty from mining activities, putting in place a 24x7 manning arrangement at the check gates and weigh bridges should not be a problem.

He also observed that there should be some documentation on reconciliation of iron ore dispatched from mines in the state by trucks and their receipt in the railway sidings. Necessary manpower for this purpose should be provided by the state government so that the person coming to collect the truck permits receives them against the summary left with the Railways, duly talked in terms of weight with the weighment modification system for the entire rake.

The Mines secretary also asked the state government to submit quarterly reports on status of concession applications pending, lease/license execution, and mine renewal applications.

He also stated that all pending reports in this connection need to be submitted within a month.