India: Odisha asks Centre to speed-up Iron Ore Output Expansion Proposals Clearance

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has requested the Central government to clear the mining output enhancement applications, which were kept in abeyance by the Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) since April, 2014. The approval of these applications is crucial as the state government is trying to boost its falling mining revenue owing to closure of major mines.

Few days back, the Director of Mines, Deepak Mohanty had indicated that the state government would request the union government to clear production enhancement applications.

According to reports, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under MoEF has approved output capacity expansion plans of about 15.3 MnT pa but it is yet to get Environmental Clearance (EC). The miners, whose applications have been approved by EAC but awaiting EC are Rungta Mines, Pabodh Mohanty, Essel mining and TP Mohanty (refer 1st table).

On the other hand, another 16.56 MnT of output expansion proposals have been kept in abeyance by MoEF. The miners in this segment includes Rungta (2 mines) and Serazuddin.

The Odisha government is hoping to meet the shortfall in mining revenue through expansion of Iron ore output. However, some experts believe the government may not meet its mining revenue target for this year as possibility of getting these output expansion proposals cleared in near future is bleak.

Name of EAC Approved Mines without EC

Qty in MnT pa

Incremental Capacity in Abeyance by MoEF

Qty in MnT pa
Source: Steel & Mines Dept, Government of Odisha