Team News Riveting
Raipur, June 17
Chairman of the Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and the Co-Chairman of the Minerals and Metals Committee of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries Naveen Jindal said that if pre-emption i.e. first right provision was implemented under the Mineral Concession Rules-2016 under rule number 12(1)(I) in Chhattisgarh, the ongoing mineral crisis could be averted.
Under the provision, the exemption has been given to the State Governments to prevent the movement of minerals to other states and abroad to ensure adequate supply to the industries of the state. This provision is implemented in Karnataka, where industries are being ensured in raw material availability through pre-emption policy.
Naveen Jindal was expressing his views on the developmental aspects of the industries of Chhattisgarh in the Chhattisgarh Mining Summit organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries online last evening. He said that if the central and state governments work together, the path of industries will become smoother. In the last one year, iron ore prices have gone up by 500 per cent in Odisha and by 350-400 per cent in Chhattisgarh.
Industries are facing an acute raw material crisis. If the pre-emption provisions are implemented, there will be adequate availability of the mineral and there will be possibilities of lower prices. The state government should see that the industries which are providing employment to the people, contributing to the collection of revenue through tax, royalty etc., should be made available sufficient minerals.
M. Nagaraju, IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Government of India suggested to bring advanced technologies into the mining business that will help in the development of the sector and the country. The state and central governments need to bring small and medium scale entrepreneurs into the mining business, he added.
He said that the middle cities and businessmen should be involved. For the optimization of efficiencies, he suggested that the government should auction large mines so that the business has a supply of input and raw material at the same time the different segments of the industry will get benefited. While giving an overview about India and its industrial activity being a core indicator of progress and development, he opined that Chhattisgarh is crucial for the country especially in the mining sector which is an important sector for state and nation development. Mining generates employment for a large section of the population, which is the backbone of the economy. It provides secured revenue to a state so that the state is in a secured position to plan different projects based on the funds available to them.
He also mentioned that Chhattisgarh should take the lead in the coal sector. Talking about the operation of mines, he mentioned that action needs to be done by the state governments. They need to partner with the entrepreneurs for quicker operations of coal mines.
Sanjay Aggarwal, President, PHDCCI in his presidential address complimented the Government of India for its progressive policies and continuous endeavors for developing the mining sector in Chhattisgarh which has been the richest Indian state in terms of resources.
Anil K. Chaudhary, Chairman, Minerals and Metals Committee, PHDCCI while sharing his industry perspective, mentioned that we need to analyze and utilize the mineral strength of various states of the nation. Chhattisgarh has an abundance of mineral strength in the best of quality which needs to be harnessed in a planned and strategized manner.
JSPL Managing Director V R Sharma said that about 85 percent iron ore from Chhattisgarh was sent to other states. Only 15 per cent iron ore was insufficient for the industries of the state. The Bhilai Steel Plant and Jindal Steel and Power Limited produce steel on a large scale here. Private sector industrial units in Chhattisgarh require about 20 million tons of iron ore per year. Apart from this, there are many medium and small-scale steel industries. It is possible to double the production by 2025 if the sufficient quantities of minerals are available to them. He said that Chhattisgarh can contribute 60 million tons to the national target of producing 300 million tons of steel by 2030.
“Our effort should be that instead of raw materials, we should send ready-made goods outside, which will also bring huge revenue to the state exchequer,” Sharma said, suggesting that instead of sending coal to other states, its diversified use can be ensured besides power generation. If work is done on the undertaking of making gas from coal and then fertilizer in the state, then the agriculture sector will also be benefitted.
The summit was also addressed by Vice President of PHDCCI Mr Pradeep Multani and Mr. Saket Dalmiya, Minerals and Metals Committee Co-Chairman Mr. Ravi Gupta, Chhattisgarh Chapter President of PHDCCI Mr. Shashank Rastogi, Swapnil Gupta etc. The program was conducted by Assistant General Secretary Yogesh Srivastava.
