MinesMin wants railways to check transport of illegal ore

She said the Patnaik government in the coastal state has already seized “more than 60,000 tonnes of iron ore from Jurudi railway siding and more than 30,000 tonnes from Banspani,” and this issue was also brought to the attention of Railway authorities by the state government.

Nair said these incidents have highlighted the need for devising “an effective mechanism” to check illegal movement of the mineral by rail. “We are of the opinion that the proposed mechanism should necessarily involve checking that royalty has been paid for the mineral sought to be transported and the name of the mine and other details are clearly indicated. Please have the matter examined for the issue of appropriate directions for the purpose and intimate us as well as the state governments in this behalf,” she told Khurana.

Simultaneously the ministry has also taken up the matter with the chief secretaries of the states. “Since the state governments have constituted state-level coordination committees for mining,I am asking the chief secretaries to include a nominee of the railways in them to ensure regular interaction and coordination,” the mines secretary told the railway board chairman.

Early last month the Orissa government in a move to curb the transport of illegally mined ore through the railways had issued orders banning the loading of ore rakes in private railway sidings in Banspani and Jaruli areas and also covering Joda East,under the Chakradharpur division of the Southeastern railways. It also imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC in the areas. Along with the goods sheds,some private sidings reportedly belonging to private mining companies. Not satisfied with its move,the state then extended the ban railway’s loading facilities at Barbil and Bolani. The move did hurt the commercial interests of the Southeastern railways,as its loading of nearly 25 rakes reportedly came to a standstill.