The Integrated Mines and Mineral Management System (i3MS) devised and successfully implemented by the Odisha Government in Steel and Mines Department has been acknowledged at the national level as a best practice of IT intervention in governance.
This was revealed by Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi at a meeting at the State Secretariat on Wednesday. Considering the progress and operation of the system, Padhi directed the Steel and Mines Department to integrate i3MS with tracking and monitoring of projects taken up under District Mineral Fund.
Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan while complementing the department for this achievement advised them to take up modernisation of the department with more IT applications.
Review showed that the Central Coordination and Empowered Committee of Ministry of Mines have recommended all States to adopt i3MS for better mineral administration. Following that the States of Jharkhand and Chattisgarh have developed their systems in line of i3MS of Odisha.
The States of Punjab and Bihar are also in contact with Odisha for development of the same. Director Mines informed that Bihar and Punjab requested the Odisha Government for source code of i3MS and agreed to pay Rs 50 lakhs each towards this.
Meanwhile, the security audit of the software has been conducted twice and the system has been found fully protected.
The mobile phone application has also been incorporated in the system and 306 mobile phones of the mining, police, forest officials along with members of the State level enforcement squad has been integrated with the system to check illegal transportation of minerals. The system has also been integrated with all the weigh bridges for cross checking of the quantum of mineral being transported.
Notably, Odisha is the first State in the country to introduce GPS tracking of mineral transportation. Presently, the mineral transportation is allowed only through GPS equipped vehicles. Director Mines informed that more than 40,000 vehicles have already been fixed with the GPS device.
Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Principal Secretary Steel and Mines Raj Kumar Sharma, Special Secretary Steel and Mines SK Popli were among others present.
