Steel, mineral majors to invest in Madhya Pradesh in coming years

Public sector majors in the field of steel, aluminium and minerals are expected to undertake huge investments in Madhya Pradesh in the coming years on the initiative of state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister for Steel, Mines, Labour and Employment, Narendra Singh Tomar.

On the initiative of Chief Minister, major central sector companies including Steel Authority of India (SAIL), National Mineral Development Corporation, Hindustan Copper Limited, NALCO and MOIL Limited will invest crores of rupees in Madhya Pradesh, an official release said today.

Union Minister for Steel, Mines and Employment and the Chief Minister discussed investment opportunities and other issues pertaining to Madhya Pradesh yesterday and took number of important decisions, it said.
 

On the proposal of SAIL, the Chief Minister has given consent for establishing a steel plant with an investment of Rs 12,000 crore on 1500 acres land in Chhattarpur district.

The National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has made a proposal for mining in Panna in view of availability of 10 million carat diamond deposit there.

The release also stated that scientific proofs were found that there is presence of diamonds in Tikamgarh region as well and it will cause no harm to tiger reserve there.

Hindustan Copper Limited sought permission for mining of 5 MT copper in the area adjoining Malajkhand in Balaghat district.

In this regard, Chauhan said value addition is necessary in mining for increasing employment opportunities in the area. He also said that warehousing facility will be provided to Hindustan Copper.

Besides, Manganese Ore India Ltd sought to invest Rs 200 crore in solar energy sector. National Aluminium Company, on its part, has proposed to set up a production unit of wind and solar energy under PPP mode in the state. 

On reviewing employment situation in the state, it was decided that a model ITI will be set up in MP, the release said.

Besides, one of the 12 advanced training centres proposed in the country will be established in Madhya Pradesh, Chauhan said adding the state government will make land available for it.

Tomar said ITI gifts will be given to Madhya Pradesh's 134 development blocks where they are not present, it said.

He informed that training will be provided in various spheres in consultation and coordination with ITIs and industries, which are needed by industries and have more employment opportunity. Model career centres will also be opened in the interest of youths.

The leaders also held detailed discussions on issues pertaining to mineral resources development and mining.

The Chief Minister said the state government is fully committed to ensuring transparency in issues related to mineral resources and mining.

A geochemical survey of state's mineral resources will be undertaken to assess exact quantity of deposits. The work will be entrusted to National Mineral Resources Development Corporation.

For this, an agreement will be signed between the state government, NMDC and Geological Survey of India. The work will be completed in three years, the release said.

Tomar said that this system will be proposed for the entire country to know the exact quantity of mineral deposits.