Bhubaneswar: The state government has initiated measures to formulate a progressive policy for sustainable and disciplined supply of minor minerals for public, private and industrial use.
The policy would be formulated after scrutinising the best practices in different states.
After a meeting of study groups that recently visited various states, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy directed the Additional Chief Secretary, (ACS) Revenue and Disaster Management, Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, to work out a definite policy proposal customising the best practices in the context of Odisha.
The study teams visited Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and Karnataka to have a practical knowledge of the practices adopted in those states with regard to minor minerals. The teams presented their reports Saturday. The reports will be further analysed and customised in Odisha.
These inputs will helpf formulate a more dynamic and need-based policy, said sources in the Chief Secretary’s office.
One team led by Revenue Department Special Secretary RN Palei visited Punjab and Rajasthan from December 16 to 21 and the second team, led by special secretary Shashadhar Nayak, visited Telangana and Karnataka from December 18 to 22.
The teams collected detailed practices about demand-supply management, auction process, excavation, supply chain, price capping and end-use prevalent in those states. These would be scrutinised in the perspective of the minor minerals available in Odisha and the policy would be formulated accordingly.
A separate directorate has been set up for the regulation of minor minerals like sand, murram and chip in Odisha. Currently, these sairat sources are being managed and monitored by the respective tehsildars under the direct supervision of district authorities.