Orissa govt ropes in World Bank for mining reforms

Orissa government has roped in the services of the World Bank to usher reforms in the mining sector.

?The state government has requested the World Bank to conduct a diagnostic study in the state to form the base for reforms in mining sector,?said the state steel & mines principal secretary, Ashok Dalwai. ?A World Bank team will carry out the assessment for four months taking into consideration the existing legal, procedural, structural and organizational framework,” he said adding, ?the Bank report is expected by the year- end.”

As many as 30 countries, concerned over illegal mining, are now in discussion with the World Bank on Extractive Industries Transparency Issue (EIPI). Orissa, on its part, has made a move and suggested the study.

World Bank has, in fact, supported the Orissa government?s reform programs in the power and financial sectors with financial assistance. Orissa is a pioneer in power sector reforms in the country. The fiscal reforms ushered in the financial sector has helped the state to recover from a serious financial crisis in the early part of this decade.

Badly bruised by the allegation of a mining scam, the state has initiated several steps to check illegal activities going on in the sector. However, as a long-term plan, the state is looking for sweeping reforms in the sector to keep the mining administration transparent and efficient.

The members of Society of Geo-Scientists and Allied Technologists (SGAT), the biggest body of geo-scientists, expressed concern over the stalemate in the mining sector. They demanded that a fool-proof transparent mechanism should be put in place for development of mining sector in the state.

The steel & mines principal secretary,while addressing a workshop of the SGAT, said the state has mooted the idea of introducing joint management of mining activities on the lines of the joint forest management to protect the mineral wealth with people?s participation. Since the local community has no stake in the mineral wealth, it is not taking any interest in checking the illegal activities taking place around. The government is going to incentivise their role so as to involve them in the management of the mineral wealth.

Dalwai said the government has created a Special Development Fund mobilizing 5% of the royalty collected from the major minerals. The government has mobilized Rs 100 crore for the Fund for the financial year 2010-11 which will be spent for the development of the people living in mining areas.