Odisha has to wait more for e-auction of minerals

Bhubaneswar: The much hyped e-auction of key
minerals like iron ore, manganese and chrome ore, which was scheduled to start
from 1^st of April this year, might be delayed.

The delay is mainly
attributed to non-finalization of key issues with the stakeholders and the Shah
Commission visit in the last week of February.

“There
is high possibility that the e-auction process will be delayed, as before the
commencement of the process the service provider (MSTC) would conduct
buyer-seller meet, training to make the stakeholders familiar with the system,
but nothing has been organised yet”, said P.L.Kandoi, President for All Odisha Steel
Federation.

On the other hand, e-auction service provider
MSTC has expressed its preparedness for the process.

“We are fully prepared for
the e-auction and waiting for the state government clearance”, said B.B.Singh,
Director (Commercial), MSTC.

He added that, “We are expecting to open our
office before 31st March and the tender process is on the way. This local office
would act as a liaisoning unit for better coordination with the state
government. However, the IT set-up at the Kolkata head office will be utilized for the e-auction”.

All users of
e-auction will have to register with the MSTC website either as buyer or
seller.

Registration of buyers and sellers will be a continuous process.

Users
from the Odisha government will be provided with a master password by MSTC for
monitoring purpose.

-Tapan moharana