Pr Secy discusses mining-related issues executing agencies

Jammu : Principal Secretary Mining, Ashok Kumar Parmar Wednesday chaired a meeting here to discuss the issues related to the supply of minor minerals to the executing agencies in J&K. These stakeholders are engaged in execution of large number of infrastructure projects initiated by Union Government for the development of Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by Director, Geology & Mining; Managing Director, J&K Minerals; Chief Engineer, JKPCC; Regional Officer, National Highways Authority of India; Joint Director, Geology and Mining; Chief Engineer, North, Northern Railways, Jammu; Chief Engineer, South, Northern Railways, Jammu; Chief Engineer, PMGSY; Executive Director, NHIDCL; Chief Engineer, BRO and District Mineral Officer, Jammu.
The meeting deliberated upon various steps taken by the Department and support provided by the Mining Departmentto the executing agencies involved in the construction of projects of National importance like Ring Roads, Expressways, AIIMS etc.
Principal Secretary Mining impressed upon the Director, Geology and Mining and Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir Minerals Limited Corporation and all the representatives of the executing agencies to work in a coordinated manner so that all these vital projects gets completed on time.
Principal Secretary, Mining also had detailed interactions with these representatives and heard the problems faced by the executing agencies. He advised Director, Geology and Mining, J&K to explore possibilities to remove the bottlenecks faced by them on priority basis.
It was informed that the Department of Geology and Mining is consistently providing Minor Minerals to these developmental agencies and also facilitating them by granting Short Term Permits and Disposal Permits for extraction of RBM, ordinary earth and clay as per prescribed guidelines.
It was further elaborated that the material is also being provided to the government owned Corporations like Jammu and Kashmir Minerals Limited and Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation (JKPCC) out of their allocated blocks for carrying out different developmental activities in the length and breadth of J&K.
Parmar assured these agencies of full support of Mining Department regarding uninterrupted availability of Minor Minerals for execution of infrastructure projects. He also advised all executive agencies to adhere to the provisions of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957, Forest (Conservation) Act 1980, Environmental Protection Act 1986, Jammu and Kashmir Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act 2010, J&K State Fisheries Act, 1960 etc. keeping in view the sensitive environmental and ecological issues of J&K.