In an effort to curb illegal mining and transportation of minor minerals, Odisha government today decided to identify the source of such materials in all blocks of the state. Admitting that there was rampant illegal mining of minor minerals, the minister said Though the DGPS survey has been done in two tehsils so far, rest of the tehsils will be asked to complete the survey by March. Meanwhile, the state government has asked all the district collectors to form squads at the sub-division level to stop illegal mining of minor minerals. The minister said the government would no more allow manual permit for transportation of minor minerals like sand, chips and other materials. The i3MS system will help to generate computer generated permit and regularise the mining process of minor minerals, he added.

Source: dna July 12, 2017 11:14 UTC