Odisha kickstarts process for auction of 49 mines; crucial meeting on Jan 3

Bhubaneswar: The process for auctioning 49 mines has been initiated by the Odisha government, which has convened a high-level meeting on January 3 to advance the exercise.

Official sources said the meeting is expected to finalise the annual auction calendar for the identified mining blocks. The proposed auction of gold mines in Mayurbhanj and Deogarh districts is also likely to be discussed.

Prior to finalising the auction calendar, the feasibility, inquiry status, and preparedness for auction of the proposed mining blocks will be reviewed, sources added.

Based on a detailed examination, the list of primary, critical, and strategic mining blocks has already been prepared. The assessment was carried out by the Director of Mines and Geology, Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), Geological Survey of India (GSI), and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL).

Senior officials, including the Additional Principal Secretary of the Steel and Mines Department, Managing Director of OMC Ltd, Director of Mines, Odisha, Deputy Director General of the Geological Survey of India, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of MCL, and the Regional Controller of Mines of the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), have been directed to attend the January 3 meeting with detailed inputs.