Some good news finally for Odisha as the beleaguered mining sector in the State has bucked the national trend by recording consistent increase in providing employment to local populace in both the coal and non-coal mining sectors last fiscal year. The sector has provided employment to around 68,000 odd people in the State in 2013-14. However, the total employment figure is still below the peak of around 75,000 in the year 2009-10.
According to the latest data available with the Directorate of Mines, the State has seen employment to over 21,000 persons in the coal mining sector in the year 2013-14. The non-coal mining sector also recorded growth in generating employment with a daily employment level of around 47,000 in the year 2013-14.
The interesting fact is when nationally coal mining has seen a trend of job losses, Odisha regularly added around 1,000 jobs every year since 2009-10. However, the non-coal mining sector had seen a big drop in job creation post mining scam in 2010-11 with job losses to the tune of 15,000. The recent data indicates that the sector has added over 6,000 new jobs since 2012-13 — thereby becoming the top State nationally in creating maximum employment in the non-coal mining sector.
The mining sector currently contributes nearly one-fifth of the industrial output in the State. Post mining scam, however, its contribution to the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of State has witnessed a decline to around 7 per cent from around 9 per cent in 2008-09.
Eastern Zone Mining Association (EZMA) secretary Prabodh Mohanty is, however, optimistic about the revival of the sector’s fortune in near future. He explained that the dip in mining contribution to GSDP is on account of closure of around 102 mines in the State following a Supreme Court order. The provision in the new Mines Ordinance- 2015 granting operational status to non-captive mines up to March 2020 would hasten opening of mines in the State having all statutory clearances thereby giving a fillip to this stagnant sector, he added.
It is pertinent to mention that mining sector in the State seems to have a very bright outlook if one goes by prediction of a High level Committee appointed by the Centre. The Committee predicts that by the year 2025 the share of the mining sector in Odisha’s GSDP would grow to around 22 per cent making it the top State in the country where mining contributes the largest to the GSDP.
The State could see fruition of its ‘mines to riches’ story as the accrued royalty revenue then would be around Rs 30,000 crore, it observed. The report also predicts generation of around 1.4 lakh jobs in the sector by 2025.
But the worrying fact in the State’s mining dream-run is comparatively slower job creation rate here. A comparative analysis with the rate of job creation with other States like Jharkhand shows that despite having a slower growth rate in mining sector, Jharkhand by 2025 would create nearly two times more jobs than Odisha.
EZMA secretary Mohanty attributed the high job potential in Jharkhand to presence of more coal mines. Now, the average daily employment in coal mines in Jharkhand is 4-times that of Odisha. Post successful auction of coal blocks, the sector could see a buoyant take-off thereby creating more jobs in near future, he added.