India News | Give Iron Ore at Concessional Rate to Steel Units: C'garh CM
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has urged the Centre to make iron ore available to the steel industries in the state's Bastar region at 30 per cent concessional rate through the NMDC.
Raipur, Jul 19 (PTI) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has urged the Centre to make iron ore available to the steel industries in the state's Bastar region at 30 per cent concessional rate through the NMDC.
The National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC)- country's largest iron-ore producer, had a major iron-ore mining operation in the Kirandul-Bacheli Complex in Dantewada district of tribal-dominated Bastar region.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Baghel said that providing iron ore at concessional rates will help the steel manufacturing units to operate on a large scale in Bastar and thereby create employment opportunities for local youth, which will result in economic growth of the region.
Baghel said that the state government has already sent a proposal in the context to the NMDC.
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Despite being rich in natural resources, Bastar region is lagging behind on several parameters as compared to other parts of the country. Due to the dense forests and the strict provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, economic activities in Bastar are limited, he said.
Problem of unemployment in the region has led to rise in Naxal activities, complicating the situation further, he added.
With the launch of DMF (District Mineral Foundation) scheme in 2015, efforts are being made to improve the condition of mining-affected families in the region, the CM said.
Besides, the state government has initiated various innovative practices in the last one-and-a-half years to improve the standard of living of people there, but development of the region is not possible without generating employment opportunities on a large scale, he asserted.
The NMDC has been engaged in iron ore mining for more than half a century in Dantewada. Hence, despite the abundance of iron ore, steel industries could not become a profitable venture for private entrepreneurs because of the adverse circumstances.
If NMDC provides iron ore to steel industries of Bastar at 30 per cent concession, establishment of major-minor steel production units in the region will become more feasible and profitable and lakhs of new employment opportunities will be generated, Baghel said in the letter.
He has requested the PM to give instructions to NMDC via the ministry concerned to supply iron ore to Bastar at concessional rates, in the larger interest of local people, the statement said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)