Chhattisgarh has completed e-auctions of minor minerals from 14 mining blocks and the same had been allocated to the bidders, officials informed.
The mines are located in Raipur, Rajnandgaon, Balodabazar and Bilaspur districts.
It may be recalled that the Union Ministry of Mines had earlier asked Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala and Uttarakhand Governments to modify their rules to enable auctioning of minor mineral blocks, officials informed.
Notably, the e-Auctions of limestone and gold mines had been completed by Chhattisgarh government recently , officials stated.
Chief Minister Raman Singh, who is also In-charge of Mineral Resources Department, congratulated the Department officials for the successful e-Auctions of minor minerals, they stated.
Mineral Resources Department Secretary, Subodh Kumar Singh said that the Central Government had taken major steps to amend the Minerals' Act to e-Auction minor minerals in January 2015.
The States had been allocated a major share in the auction amount. The e-Auctions had made the entire process transparent and quick.
Notably, the Chhattisgarh Government had made significant changes in the minor Minerals Policy on March 23, 2016 and directed for the e-Auctions of all minerals in Chhattisgarh.
Online tenders had been invited from all over the country.
According to available information, the highest bidding was for the three ordinary stones quarries in Rajnandgaon district.
Against the Reserve Price of Rs 20 and 60 paise a square meter the auction price was Rs 83 and 77 paise.
In Raipur district five mines, in Balodabazar district two mines and Bilaspur district four minor minerals' mines had been e-Auctioned successfully.
It may be mentioned here that the State Government had also invited for tenders through the Union Government's MSTC portal.
The State Government had also issued notification on the Mineral Resources Department website.
The last date for the Online bidding was October 17. More than 50 persons had bid for the 14 minor minerals mines.
The Department had completed the e-Auction process in a month's period which earlier it used to take a year.
Notably, Chhattisgarh government will also be putting up a total of six limestone blocks for auction in November and December months this year under Phase II auctions , official sources informed.
The Government is also proposing to reserve the limestone blocks for green field cement plants, they informed.
Meanwhile, the State has collected and deposited Rs 76 crore in the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) account.
Every village with a major mineral lease in Chhattisgarh is being developed as a 'model village' and Rs 5 to 6 crore will be spent every year for the next three years to improve the standard of living in these villages.
The State has issued letter of Intent (loI) for three mineral blocks auctioned in Phase I.
Auction for two limestone blocks were annulled due to opposition from the villagers in one block and smaller size and high silica, they informed.
A total of 10 blocks have been identified and are being explored by the State to be made ready for auction in 2017.
Notably, Chhattisgarh had 7.48 per cent share in total value of mineral production in the country during 2014-15, according to the annual report of the Union Ministry of Mines.
As per the report, Rajasthan had share of 11.49 per cent, Gujarat ( 8.85 per cent), Andhra Pradesh ( 8.25 per cent), Chhattisgarh ( 7.48 per cent) followed by Jharkhand ( 7.37 per cent), Odisha ( 6.38 per cent), Maharashtra ( 5.35 per cent), Madhya Pradesh ( 4.70 per cent), West Bengal ( 4.32 per cent), Assam (4.04 per cent), Karnataka (2.96 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh ( 2.72 per cent).
The remaining States and Union Territories having individual share of less than 2.5 per cent all together accounted for remaining of total value of mineral production during the year under review, the report stated.
State-wise analysis revealed that during 2014-15, the value of mineral production have shown a mixed trend as compared to the previous year.
The states which have indicated an increase in the value of mineral production are -- Tripura (14.3 per cent), Karnataka ( 1.6 per cent), Bihar (6.6 per cent), Himachal Pradesh ( 16.5 per cent), Mehgalaya ( 61.6 per cent), Uttar Pradesh ( 0.8 per cent) and Chhattisgarh ( 0.7 per cent).
During 2014-15, mineral production was reported from 33 states and union territories which is actual reporting from Mineral Conservation and Development Rules ( MCDR) and fuel minerals from 23 states and estimation of minor minerals for all the 32 states and union territories of which the bulk of value of mineral production of about 94.18 per cent was confined to 13 states ( including off shore areas) only, it stated.