trucks to get e-pass

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 23: In order to check illegal transportation of minerals, the Odisha government has asked all truck owners carrying minerals to register their vehicles with the government. The registration drive will be launched online from December 1.

Odisha steel and mines minister Raghunath Mohanty said: “The directorate of mining and geology has issued a notice to this effect and truckers have been asked to register their vehicles under the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules.”

Sources said about one lakh trucks engaged in transportation business would be registered online. “The registration process will go online from December 1. The truck-owners will have to register their vehicles by February 28,” said an official.

The truck owners will be issued a licence for two years. Each truck will have to make a challan of Rs 500 to carry minerals. The owners will have to submit a list of trips they make every year. The online registration will pave the way for the truck owners to get an e-pass. To obtain the e-pass, a truck owner will have to submit a record that he or she does not have a criminal background. If one failed to prove that, his vehicle would not be given an e-pass, said an official. The Keonjhar Truck Owners’ Association has welcomed the decision of the government.

In another development, Odisha steel and mines department has issued showcause notices to 57 mine owners. The department has asked the mine owners to explain why action would not be taken against them for carrying out allegedly illegal mining operations. The mine owners have been asked to submit their replies within a week.

The mine owners had allegedly carried out operations without obtaining necessary environmental clearance. Most of the owners allegedly did not have the mining plan for conducting such activities. They had also been engaged in mining activities outside their lease areas.

However, mine owner and Champua MLA Jitu Patnaik said illegal transportation could not be checked only through registration.

The mine owners were also found guilty of extraction of minerals in excess of their stipulated targets and subleasing in violation of the spirit of the Rule 37 under the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960. The rule mentions any form of sub-leasing to private parties as illegal.

The cases pertain mainly to the period between 2004 and 2009 causing huge losses to Odisha’s exchequer. The Odisha government has so far arrested about 680 people in connection with the mining scam.