With a vast series of mines remaining sealed in Odisha due to miss of orthodox clearances, both the state and the union government on Monday resolved to make mining activities in Odisha a legitimate mercantile activity by complying with all such requirements. A high-level meeting was convened by Chief Secretary J K Mohapatra in presence of Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Anup Kumar Pujari, and Secretary, Ministry of Steel G Mohan Kumar to review the situation arising out of closure of mines due to lack of statutory requirements. The legalized mining leases which have been stalled due to the non-compliance to statutory clearances and or some interdepartmental decisions should be revived through joint expedited efforts both at state and national level. Pujari pointed out that as on today, Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act-1957 was the governing legislation of the country and all issues relating to lease, auction, prospecting license, renewal and others would be decided as per the provisions of the Act. Sources said there were about 59 operating mines in Odisha including 41 iron and manganese, six coal, one bauxite, five chromite and six limestone mines. However, about 131 mines were closed down due to different reasons. “It was decided in the meeting to look into all details of these mines on case to case basis and find out the reasons for their closure,” an official said adding decision was taken to expedite operation of the close down mines if they faced procedural delays or stipulated clearances. Odisha Mining Corporation CMD, Saswat Mishra, present in the meeting suggested that since forest and environmental clearances are submitted at the time of Stage-1 clearance, these certificates may not be kept as prerequisites for consideration of Stage-II clearance. The lessees may be asked to comply such conditions before starting mining operation in the leased area. Both the State and Central Govt authorities took note of the suggestion and assured to resolve the matter soon. Relying a question on raw material linkage to local industries, Chief Secretary Mohapatra said the problem would be largely addressed after resumption of legal mining activities in the state. In the meeting, the Chief Secretary also assured the union secretary that the pending dues of NALCO and SAIL will be recovered soon. The state government has asked the two PSUs to resolve the matter amicably. Both Nalco and SAIL had earlier moved court against the claim on power charges made by the state government. While Nalco has challenged the claim of Rs 1095 crores by way of power charges in the Supreme Court, SAIL unit Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) had contested the Rs 61.25 crore power bill slapped on it in the Odisha High Court.