Dikhyaa Mohanty 
In an attempt to hasten the expansion of the mining industry in the state, the Odisha government on Monday examined ways to speed up the approval procedure for mining blocks that are up for auction. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Chief Secretary Anu Garg, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) Hemant Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary (Steel & Mines) Deoranjan Kumar Singh, senior Ministry of Mines officials, and other dignitaries attended a high-level review meeting with Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy at Lok Seva Bhawan.
The discussions centered on increasing the effectiveness of regulatory approvals and expediting the state’s licensing and operationalization of auctioned mining blocks. In order to increase state involvement in mineral development, the meeting also covered the distribution of certain mining blocks to State Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). The construction of infrastructure, such as improving port and rail links for effective mineral evacuation, was also a major topic of debate. Plans for the ecologically friendly reconstruction of abandoned mines using contemporary technology were also examined by the stakeholders.
The meeting emphasised the integrated development of mining regions using District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds. It was decided to implement various developmental programmes under a “saturation mode” approach through the ‘CM Sampada’ scheme.
