By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 5 Aug: The state government has claimed that several major decisions taken by it under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami towards increasing the revenue are now bearing fruit. The state mining department has claimed that it has been able to manage a revenue of Rs 645.42 crores from mining against the target of Rs 875 crores set for the Financial Year (FY) 2023-24. The department has also reminded that while the target of Rs 875 could not be achieved, the total earning from mining in the financial year 2023-24 was Rs 173.17 crores more than the previous year (FY 2022-23).
The department has disclosed that, in the current financial year 2024-25 (from April to July) also, revenue of Rs 333.17 crores has been earned, which is higher by Rs 133.31 crores as compared to the revenue earned in the first 4 months of FY 2023-24. This is about 67 percent more than the revenue earned during the same period last year.
The Director, Directorate of Geology and Mining, has disclosed that, in the year 2022-23, the State Government had given a total revenue target of Rs 875 crores to the Directorate of Geology and Mining, Uttarakhand, against which it earned a revenue of Rs 472.25 crores. In the year 2023-24, the State Government had given a total target of Rs 875 crores to the Directorate of Geology and Mining, against which it earned a total revenue of Rs 645.42 crores. This was Rs 173.17 crores i.e. about 40 percent more than last year. In the year 2022-23, Rs 161.64 crores were received in four months (April to July) in the year 2023-24, Rs 199.86 crores in four months (April to July) in the year 2023-24 and Rs 333.17 crores in the current financial year 2024-25 (April to July).
The Directorate has claimed that tireless efforts are being made by the department to achieve 100 percent of the revenue target set by the State Government for the financial year 2024-25.
It may be recalled that Additional Director SL Patrick was suspended some months ago. The department is presently being headed by IAS Officer Brijesh Kumar Sant, who is Secretary, Mining, as well as Director, Mining, at present. The Directorate has also claimed that the credit for the record revenue receipt goes to the simplification of Uttarakhand Sub-Mineral Avoidance Rules by the state government, identification of new mineral lots through e-tender, co-e-auction and allotment through e-tendering, continuous and effective action by the enforcement team constituted at the Directorate level for effective prevention of illegal mining, transportation and storage, upgradation of e-Ravanna portal by monitoring it from time to time at the headquarters level as well as on recovery of lease money/inevitable rent, etc., by the company allotted through tender in four districts namely Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital.
The directorate has also claimed that to make mining operations more transparent, robust and to effectively prevent illegal mining/illegal transportation and to increase revenue, the state government has approved setting up a total of 45 mine check-gates (check-posts) for developing a modern Mining Digital Transformation and Surveillance System (MDTSS), the process of which is underway. Along with this, the process of keeping the Ravana forms in digital form is underway.
It is also being claimed that the common people are getting mining material at cheaper rates. The Directorate claims that due to abundant supply of sub-minerals as raw material in stone crushers/screening plants, sub-minerals like grit, dust, sand, sand, gravel, etc., are currently being sold at the rate of Rs 70 per quintal, which was being sold at the rate of Rs 140 per quintal in the previous year. As a result, the common people are getting construction material at cheaper rates and government working agencies are also getting the supply of raw/finished construction material at cheaper rates for public construction works.
