By Sanjeev Shekhar
Ranchi-
Hindi blogs have fewer visitors in the website and there is a need to make the blogs more popular, strongly felt the section of bloggers who conglomerated here on the occasion of first Bloggers Meet organized under the aegis of Kashyap Eye Memorial Hospital (KEMH) at Purulia road on Sunday.
I too was a part of the conference and enjoyed the interactive session of the bloggers. The meet, as I believe, was a sincere endeavour to encourage bloggers as well as provide information to new bloggers regarding the technical issues attached to blogging. Such conference would pave way for many to get into writing.
While inaugurating the event, the senior journalist & Editor of Ranchi Express Balbir Dutt stated that blogs have now become the extension of writing diaries wherein the individuals present their thoughts without fear. The CEO of the KEMH Dr. Bharti Kashyap was the chief guest on the occasion who emphasized that blogging is a strong means of communication to express views and ideas to the outside world. Dr. Kashyap is also an active member of the popular blog ‘ranchihalla.blogspot.com.’
About 100 bloggers participated in the meet from various parts of the state including Dhanbad, Bokaro, Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh etc. This was seen as an opportunity to know each other in person and share the experience of blogging including some memorable instances of their creation. “The content of the Hindi blogging needs improvement and the characterization of the blog should be well designed in order to cater to the needs and requirements of the readers or the web visitors,” stated a blogger at the conference.
The famous blogger Shailesh Bharatwasi spelled out the ways and techniques about blogging and gave statistical data that puts the figure to as many as 133 million blogs available at Blogosphere as per the technocrat survey of 2008. He, however, admitted to the query that the money earned through blogs is very less depending on the size of the visitors to a particular blog. For every 1000 visitors, one can expect to earn Rs.32-40 only, Shailesh said.
Another prominent blogger Ghanshayam Srivastava having his blog ‘jharkhandighanshyam.blogspot.com’ was of the opinion that in near future blogs would be the strong means of communication to get connected to the outside world. He believed that such interaction will bring about more understanding about the improvement in content and knowing of the newer techniques that would help in enhancing the blog qualitatively.
Sanjeev Shekhar
Journalist/Media Consultant/PR
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Women Gym in Vogue-Health is wealth
By Sanjeev Shekhar
Gone are the days when the women popularly known as the ‘home-makers’ preferred to remain confined in the four walls. The state capital of Jharkhand is witnessing a change – a positive change for a better tomorrow. Women here have become health conscious and the growing number of gyms in each locality of the city speaks volume about the increasing awareness regarding health among them.
Ms Neetu Singh may be having grown up children pursuing their studies at high-school level but she prefers to take time off from her busy schedule to sweat at the ‘state of art’ gym that has come up in her locality. “The phase of running after children and preparing meal for them is over. I have realized that if your bones are in order you are living a far better and healthy life. For this, I thought of spending sometime in the gym and sweat out the extra calories that comes up automatically with age,” she explained while buttressing the age old adage ‘health is wealth’.
Neetu is a working woman and is not alone in this endeavour, her friend Nisha, Sweta and Sweety too are following suit. They strongly held that sweating during exercise has helped them to shun extra adipose and that losing weight with little bit of discipline in food habits keep them active and energetic.
“You are a confident person eventually when you realize that you have lost weight and become slim. It’s not necessary that fitness is the domain of only the models and actresses but it should be imbibed by all for their own betterment,” said Nisha.
The women of the contemporary times love to be pampered and want to look attractive, feel the trainers of the health spas. “There is nothing wrong in looking good. If a little bit of methodical work out can enhance your personality and keeps you physically and mentally strong, you should certainly go for it,” said Sajid, one of the trainers of the gymnasium.
Interestingly women spa or gymnasiums are mostly owned by women. This also helps in marketing the concept and necessity of exercising among the women-folk, as they feel secured and safe in treading such places. “Work-outs helps you de-stress and get rid of metabolic waste that ultimately cleanse your system,” said the dietician and owner of the gym.
Substantiating the point further she said that the changes in the life-pattern of women are no more seen as a taboo. Even the husbands and other family members are supporting them in their venture of keeping themselves healthy and hearty.
Sanjeev Shekhar
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Stringent laws to deal terror attacks: no intervention to be tolerated in investigaing agency probe
By Sanjeev Shekhar
Ranchi-
There has to be a clear cut defined role of state and centre on the law and order issue and should be put in concurrent list. There should be no ambiguity in the centre-state relations and some serious issues as like terror attack should automatically spill over to centre for dealing such matter independently.
The suggestion of former DGP, R.R.Prasad during the national level panel discussion on “Internal Security-Emerging issues since 26/11: Challenges and its solutions”, organized under the aegis of Citizen’s Parliament was passed as a resolution in the House on Saturday. The chairperson of the House and the Chief Editor of the Prabhat Khabar Hariwansh agreed that the time has come to deal such matter with iron hand. However, the House welcomed the formation of the National Investigative Agency (NIA) by the centre recently that entrust centre directly to investigate into law and order problem faced by the state.
The House was divided in two groups-panelist and analysts. Penelists included ex DGP, R.R.Prasad, Brigadier Hari Kumar and businessman turned politician K.K.Poddar on one side, while the team of analysts included Balibir Dutt, Justice Anand Prasad Singh, senior journalist C.S.Jha, Air Vice-Marshal Yash Kumar and advocate-cum-social activist Sohail Anwar. The politicians that included Subodhkant Sahay, Saryu Rai were conspicuous of their absence during the discussion. Hariwansh chaired the house.
The Citizen Parliament asserted the need of stringent laws as like Maharasthra Crime Control Act to deal with extraordinary situation. The analyst and Editor of the Ranchi Express Balbir Dutt expressed concern that despite repeated attacks in temple the security has not been tightened as per the requirement and safety of the common man. He cited the examples of Akshardham, Jagannath Mandir at Puri, Sankatmochan at Varanasi etc that are facing potential security threat. The only need is to strengthen the system and set house in order internally.
Brigadier Ravi Kumar strongly felt that the local information should not be ignored in any case. He cited the example of Mumbai terror attacks, wherein the information given about strangers to the police alighting from the boat to enter Colaba was ignored and they did not lodge any report against them. The centre and the state should use such information effectively.
The House held discussion on various subjects vis-à-vis role of government, centre-state relations, police and administrative reforms and role of politicians and public. R.R.Prasad said that the government should do police reforms and there should not be unwarranted intervention in any investigating agency work. The lawyer Sohail Anwar suggested that there is need of revision and redrafting of Indian Penal Code.
The members also felt that the discussion should not take the shape of academic discussion but should be action oriented. There is a need of character building that begins from house and primary schooling of children. For this the role of people or public was laid importance. They should come forward to bring about change and give shape to futuristic goals. Hariwansh declared in the house that is depends on the people while selecting their representative and good character people should come forward. The house questioned the role of Disaster Management and Civil Security department and decided to invite the members regarding their contribution towards society.
With warm regards,
Sanjeev Shekhar,
Journalist/Media Consultant
Ranchi-
There has to be a clear cut defined role of state and centre on the law and order issue and should be put in concurrent list. There should be no ambiguity in the centre-state relations and some serious issues as like terror attack should automatically spill over to centre for dealing such matter independently.
The suggestion of former DGP, R.R.Prasad during the national level panel discussion on “Internal Security-Emerging issues since 26/11: Challenges and its solutions”, organized under the aegis of Citizen’s Parliament was passed as a resolution in the House on Saturday. The chairperson of the House and the Chief Editor of the Prabhat Khabar Hariwansh agreed that the time has come to deal such matter with iron hand. However, the House welcomed the formation of the National Investigative Agency (NIA) by the centre recently that entrust centre directly to investigate into law and order problem faced by the state.
The House was divided in two groups-panelist and analysts. Penelists included ex DGP, R.R.Prasad, Brigadier Hari Kumar and businessman turned politician K.K.Poddar on one side, while the team of analysts included Balibir Dutt, Justice Anand Prasad Singh, senior journalist C.S.Jha, Air Vice-Marshal Yash Kumar and advocate-cum-social activist Sohail Anwar. The politicians that included Subodhkant Sahay, Saryu Rai were conspicuous of their absence during the discussion. Hariwansh chaired the house.
The Citizen Parliament asserted the need of stringent laws as like Maharasthra Crime Control Act to deal with extraordinary situation. The analyst and Editor of the Ranchi Express Balbir Dutt expressed concern that despite repeated attacks in temple the security has not been tightened as per the requirement and safety of the common man. He cited the examples of Akshardham, Jagannath Mandir at Puri, Sankatmochan at Varanasi etc that are facing potential security threat. The only need is to strengthen the system and set house in order internally.
Brigadier Ravi Kumar strongly felt that the local information should not be ignored in any case. He cited the example of Mumbai terror attacks, wherein the information given about strangers to the police alighting from the boat to enter Colaba was ignored and they did not lodge any report against them. The centre and the state should use such information effectively.
The House held discussion on various subjects vis-à-vis role of government, centre-state relations, police and administrative reforms and role of politicians and public. R.R.Prasad said that the government should do police reforms and there should not be unwarranted intervention in any investigating agency work. The lawyer Sohail Anwar suggested that there is need of revision and redrafting of Indian Penal Code.
The members also felt that the discussion should not take the shape of academic discussion but should be action oriented. There is a need of character building that begins from house and primary schooling of children. For this the role of people or public was laid importance. They should come forward to bring about change and give shape to futuristic goals. Hariwansh declared in the house that is depends on the people while selecting their representative and good character people should come forward. The house questioned the role of Disaster Management and Civil Security department and decided to invite the members regarding their contribution towards society.
With warm regards,
Sanjeev Shekhar,
Journalist/Media Consultant
Friday, December 12, 2008
PSUs iron ore interest being undermined in Ghatkuri
By Sanjeev Shekhar
The present global financial crisis has severely dented the economies of many developed countries. India on the other hand, due to superior governance and stupendous growth shown by some key business sectors, have managed to reduce the impact of this crisis on its economy and is highly expected to achieve a decreased yet significant GDP of 7-7.5% by the close of this financial year.
The Indian steel industry though impacted with steep fall in demand has greatly contributed towards the sustainability of the economic growth uptil now. The Ministry of Steel aims to achieve a steel production of 110 Million Tonnes by 2010-11 and 200 Million Tonnes by 2020. The three eastern states of India, especially Jharkhand, has the one of the richest iron ore resources in the country and is expected to the play a significant role in helping the country in achieving the steel targets for the 11th and subsequent 5 year plans.
India will only be able to match the world’s largest producers of steel like China and Japan, provided various State Governments allocate on a priority basis the precious iron ore resources to large scale projects promoted by the most eligible and credible steel producers, instead of small capacity projects which in most cases neither contribute to the infrastructural development of the region nor scientific development and optimum utilization of the mines, nor are able to adhere to the stringent environmental norms – purely because their project size is unable to absorb such huge costs. They can also not match our growth requirements.
A total of 74 MOUs have been signed in Jharkhand for Mega Investment in setting up Steel, Power, Cement & Sponge Iron plants at a proposed investment of Rs. 2,93,802 crores. Of the total 75% of the companies which had signed the MoUs are yet to acquire land and a same percentage are yet to file Detailed Project Reports to the concerned authorities. As far as ground level implementation is concerned only 18% companies have started the first phase of their production and that these are mostly sponge iron plants. It is not suprising that in the last five years (since the signing of the MoUs) only approximately 5,700 direct employment opportunities have been created by these private players till date, as compared to the committed 200,000 jobs. Such a scenario has resulted in poor financial condition of the farmers who gave their land willingly in the hope of better future and living conditions.
Inspite of such a poor track record the present Jharkhand Government has not learnt any lessons and continues to jeopardize the development potential of the state and it’s resources. The government continues to favor adhoc and non-planned allocation of precious mine resources to projects which will not significantly contribute to the development of the state’s mineral based industry. The change in Chief Ministership does not seem to have brought any change in this perspective.
In light of the current recessionary trends many key entrepreneurs have also deferred investment in new steel plants despite having acquired iron ore blocks. It is noteworthy to mention that apart from couple of major players like SAIL and Tata Steel, most of the smaller steel/mining companies are producing sponge iron, which does not justify allotment of mining leases to them.
The recent case of the Chief Minister giving it’s go ahead to allocate the lucrative Ghatkuri mines which was reserved for the Public Sector Units to private sector companies which are proposing to set up small capacities is another example of State’s adhoc and totally adverse policy for the development of the iron ore potential of the state. Inspite of the fact, that Ghatkuri RF is reserved for allotment to PSUs only for the purposes of superior mineral development, State Government had not bothered to check this fact and instead recommended allotment to few private steel players.
The CM’s nod for allotment of Ghatkuri iron ore mines to private players, is clearly going to undermine the PSU’s iron ore interest such as that of SAIL which has committed to set up 15 million tonnes Greenfield steel plan in Jharkhand with the total investment of Rs 60,000 Crores and was also an applicant for allotment of the iron ore mine in Ghatkuri. Inspite of the creditibilty and commitment of SAIL as a PSU towards the socio-economic development of the region the CM has for reasons best known to him has chosen to undermine the development potential of the Ghatkuri region and interest of the people at large.
Ghatukuri RF has a total mineable area of 3,000 hectares, out of which the 6 private steel companies who have approached the Supreme Court, require mining leases on an area of 2700 hectares. Most of the companies are planning to set up capacities in the range of 1 million tons. Given the past track record will not be surprising that these applicants are not serious in their endeavor and are using the opportunity to block the scares commodity. Allocation of mines to small projects will also lead to unscientific mining.
It is hoped that the Government will all the precious resource to those who will undertake suitable development of the mine and are committed to setting up large steel plants in a time bound manner.
Sanjeev Shekhar
Journalist/Media Consultant
Monday, November 10, 2008
Politicians should first see what they have done for the state?
By Sanjeev Shekhar
The remark of the Chief Minister, Sibu Soren on Tatas has drawn flak from the citizens and common people in the state capital of Jharkhand for reasons galore. Firstly the remark was not a sensible one considering his stature, and secondly the remark on a particular industrial house came as a rude shock for all those investors willing to commission their projects here.
“This man has been doing politics on sentiments. He is well aware about the people of this state that they are simple and could be befooled emotionally. This is why he speaks regarding tribal rights, land and other things related to the aboriginals here,” stated a high-level corporate executive. He candidly said that Jharkhand is reeling in the backwaters of development only because the tribal leaders here are the greatest enemy of this state, and they do not want development because once they become aware, the tribal politics would go into the back burner, the executive opined.
The reaction of the officials was in response to the statement of the chief minister, Sibu Soren, who reportedly said in Jamshedpur on November 9 that the Tatas are the greatest enemy of Jharkhand. Soren went on to add that the company has done precious little for the betterment of people here after taking away their land for the project. Such things would not be tolerated anymore, Soren threatened.
Another major steel plant official on being contacted said that the nonchalant attitude of the leaders is reflected for the short term gain in politics. “This man has been of revolutionary mind. He has always fought against the capitalist forces. How can he encourage the investors in the state? In fact he has not accused Tatas but has castigated the investors in general and has given a message that whosever fails to toe the line of politicians will have to pay heavily if they want to operate in this state,” the top level company official of the steel & power industry said.
Politicians in Jharkhand should analyze, as to what they have done with this state, observed the lawyer of the High Court. In the past eight years, they have not done anything constructive and could never boost the industries of any form. Under such a situation they do not have the right to speak against the major steel player who has created a history of sorts in recent times with acquisition of Corus and launching of Nano car.
“The politicians of this state should be taken to task by public and should be made accountable as to what they have done till now except for indulging in self aggrandizements,” said Pratyush, the Mathematician.
Sanjeev Shekhar
Media Consultant/Journalist/PR
The remark of the Chief Minister, Sibu Soren on Tatas has drawn flak from the citizens and common people in the state capital of Jharkhand for reasons galore. Firstly the remark was not a sensible one considering his stature, and secondly the remark on a particular industrial house came as a rude shock for all those investors willing to commission their projects here.
“This man has been doing politics on sentiments. He is well aware about the people of this state that they are simple and could be befooled emotionally. This is why he speaks regarding tribal rights, land and other things related to the aboriginals here,” stated a high-level corporate executive. He candidly said that Jharkhand is reeling in the backwaters of development only because the tribal leaders here are the greatest enemy of this state, and they do not want development because once they become aware, the tribal politics would go into the back burner, the executive opined.
The reaction of the officials was in response to the statement of the chief minister, Sibu Soren, who reportedly said in Jamshedpur on November 9 that the Tatas are the greatest enemy of Jharkhand. Soren went on to add that the company has done precious little for the betterment of people here after taking away their land for the project. Such things would not be tolerated anymore, Soren threatened.
Another major steel plant official on being contacted said that the nonchalant attitude of the leaders is reflected for the short term gain in politics. “This man has been of revolutionary mind. He has always fought against the capitalist forces. How can he encourage the investors in the state? In fact he has not accused Tatas but has castigated the investors in general and has given a message that whosever fails to toe the line of politicians will have to pay heavily if they want to operate in this state,” the top level company official of the steel & power industry said.
Politicians in Jharkhand should analyze, as to what they have done with this state, observed the lawyer of the High Court. In the past eight years, they have not done anything constructive and could never boost the industries of any form. Under such a situation they do not have the right to speak against the major steel player who has created a history of sorts in recent times with acquisition of Corus and launching of Nano car.
“The politicians of this state should be taken to task by public and should be made accountable as to what they have done till now except for indulging in self aggrandizements,” said Pratyush, the Mathematician.
Sanjeev Shekhar
Media Consultant/Journalist/PR
Monday, November 3, 2008
Tobacco kills-make Ranchi smoke free zone
Sanjeev Shekhar
Ranchi-
While everybody at the seminar organised under tha aegis of government of Jharkhand agreed that tobacco in any form is harmful to humanity. Consumed directly or indirectly, it damanges human health. When everybody spoke about the measures to control the use of tobacco, no-one, except one, spoke of stopping production of such tobacco products that directly effects human body.
The BJP legislator from Ranchi town C.P.Singh was the only one to make a public statement that he consumes tobacco and he really want to get rid of it. It' s intoxicating and thus hard to give up. "I'll like to point out that why doesn't the government stop producing such harmful materials when it's dangerous to public health? Time has come to give the issue a serious thinking," he said.
It's easy to nab people who consume it but what about those people who openly sell it at every nook and corner of the city, kasba and even villages. Why the government follows such double standard? Government talks of punishing the culprits who smoke, but the law says nothing about those who sell? These were certain queries that kept haunting the minds of the people at the seminar-cum-workshop all through the day.
Tobacco, in any form or type, kills people and is one of the leading causes of deaths in the world. With this message and focus on the issue, the sensitization workshop for law enforcement officials and NGO personnel on tobacco control kicked off.
Message was clear, make ‘Ranchi-smoke free’ and for this, the law enforcing agencies might have to deal with iron hand for the cause of saving humanity. “It’s easy to frame law but implementation of the same will be a bigger challenge,” firmly believed the Health Minister, Bhanu Pratap Sahi while inaugurating the convention here on Saturday.
The issue haunts in the minds of conscious people vigorously in the contemporary times. Youths in college congregate near betel shops and are found smoking, eating gutka and even chewing tobacco. Despite no-smoking board put up at public places, the impact in the minds of young people is yet to gain ground. For this, the law enforcing officials will have to deal with such people or may be compelled to punish,” said the Minister.
Sahi emphasized the need to begin with Ranchi to make it smoke free and directed the officials of the department concerned to handover the task to 55 NGOs in 55 wards of Ranchi to spread the message regarding adverse impact of smoking or consumption of tobacco for that matter. “The person who smokes is not causing damage to himself but is also causing damage to those who are sitting beside him, thereby making others passive smokers,” Bhanu asserted.
According to the comparative analysis of WHO (World Health Organisation) Framework convention on tobacco control globally tobacco kills 5.4 million people annually. If unchecked the tobacco toll by 2030 would be 10 million deaths annually, amounting to one billion lives in this century.
The secretary health Dr Pradeep Kumar was vocal in pointing out that the intensive campaign through various mediums including advertisement and media would help in inculcating the message strongly. “The need of the hour is to spread the message down the line that how tobacco is dangerous to life? It’s a prolonged struggle and a challenge in which the curative part is equally important as like preventive and counseling,” Dr. Kumar stated.
Others who spoke on the occasion included Dr Bijon Mishra, representative of a prominent NGO Swati Paramar, Dr. V.N.Singh and Dr Rana J. Singh.
Sanjeev Shekhar
Journalist/Media Consultant/PR
Ranchi-
While everybody at the seminar organised under tha aegis of government of Jharkhand agreed that tobacco in any form is harmful to humanity. Consumed directly or indirectly, it damanges human health. When everybody spoke about the measures to control the use of tobacco, no-one, except one, spoke of stopping production of such tobacco products that directly effects human body.
The BJP legislator from Ranchi town C.P.Singh was the only one to make a public statement that he consumes tobacco and he really want to get rid of it. It' s intoxicating and thus hard to give up. "I'll like to point out that why doesn't the government stop producing such harmful materials when it's dangerous to public health? Time has come to give the issue a serious thinking," he said.
It's easy to nab people who consume it but what about those people who openly sell it at every nook and corner of the city, kasba and even villages. Why the government follows such double standard? Government talks of punishing the culprits who smoke, but the law says nothing about those who sell? These were certain queries that kept haunting the minds of the people at the seminar-cum-workshop all through the day.
Tobacco, in any form or type, kills people and is one of the leading causes of deaths in the world. With this message and focus on the issue, the sensitization workshop for law enforcement officials and NGO personnel on tobacco control kicked off.
Message was clear, make ‘Ranchi-smoke free’ and for this, the law enforcing agencies might have to deal with iron hand for the cause of saving humanity. “It’s easy to frame law but implementation of the same will be a bigger challenge,” firmly believed the Health Minister, Bhanu Pratap Sahi while inaugurating the convention here on Saturday.
The issue haunts in the minds of conscious people vigorously in the contemporary times. Youths in college congregate near betel shops and are found smoking, eating gutka and even chewing tobacco. Despite no-smoking board put up at public places, the impact in the minds of young people is yet to gain ground. For this, the law enforcing officials will have to deal with such people or may be compelled to punish,” said the Minister.
Sahi emphasized the need to begin with Ranchi to make it smoke free and directed the officials of the department concerned to handover the task to 55 NGOs in 55 wards of Ranchi to spread the message regarding adverse impact of smoking or consumption of tobacco for that matter. “The person who smokes is not causing damage to himself but is also causing damage to those who are sitting beside him, thereby making others passive smokers,” Bhanu asserted.
According to the comparative analysis of WHO (World Health Organisation) Framework convention on tobacco control globally tobacco kills 5.4 million people annually. If unchecked the tobacco toll by 2030 would be 10 million deaths annually, amounting to one billion lives in this century.
The secretary health Dr Pradeep Kumar was vocal in pointing out that the intensive campaign through various mediums including advertisement and media would help in inculcating the message strongly. “The need of the hour is to spread the message down the line that how tobacco is dangerous to life? It’s a prolonged struggle and a challenge in which the curative part is equally important as like preventive and counseling,” Dr. Kumar stated.
Others who spoke on the occasion included Dr Bijon Mishra, representative of a prominent NGO Swati Paramar, Dr. V.N.Singh and Dr Rana J. Singh.
Sanjeev Shekhar
Journalist/Media Consultant/PR
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Procedural delays hamper timely implementation of mega projects
By Sanjeev Shekhar
Ranchi-
Despite the centre’s prior approval to grant mining lease (ML) or prospecting lease (PL) to nearly two dozen companies, the ground level mining activities could not kick off in the state. Thanks to the procedural delays of the various concerned departments owing to which the companies here remains a confounded lot.
Statistics available with the department of mines shows that as many as 18 companies have been granted ML while four companies have got PL. However, the companies having the centre’s nod are unable to carry out the mining work at the respective sites in the absence of statutory clearances required from the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), environment and forest, state pollution board clearance so on and so forth. Once armed with these clearances, the companies would be entitled for the lease to carry out their assigned tasks at the sites.
Interestingly, there are scores of companies that have been granted centre’s prior approval for more that two to four years back but the statutory clearances are proving the spoilsport at the ground level. “We are unable to begin work as clearances from the department concerned are awaited,” was the common refrain of the industrial representatives here.
The main functionary of the Electrosteel Company, Nirmal Kataraka, pointed out that the centre’s approval does not entitle them to begin work at the site instantly. The company has been granted centre’s approval for Kodlibad mines area in West Singhbhum for 192.30 hectares. The approval came on January 25, 2006. The state has asked the company to get the clearances from the related departments following which lease would be eventually granted for carrying out the mining work.
“It takes time to seek clearances from departments particularly environment, forest and pollution. Lots of departments are involved and all have their procedures that cannot be overlooked. Thus it takes time to begin work at the site,” Nirmal said.
Endorsing the viewpoint, the officials of the Sunflag firmly held that such clearances are taking nearly 3 to 5 years time. Consequently, the work at the ground level related to mining cannot be kicked off. “In some cases, the forest clearances are awaited for decades together, said the Sunflag official, Jagannathan Somu. Sunflag has been allotted 120 hectares at Kodlibad mines in the West Singhbum in 2006.
The official spokesperson of the Anandita Traders informed that the company has been allotted iron ore last year at Param-Baljori covering an area of 47.15 hectares. He said that normally the statutory clearances takes time of 20-24 months. “We have to give the mine plan, seek clearances from the various ministries at the centre as well as at the state level. Such process needs time,” the official said explaining that such things are normal in the day-to-day functioning.
Ranchi-
Despite the centre’s prior approval to grant mining lease (ML) or prospecting lease (PL) to nearly two dozen companies, the ground level mining activities could not kick off in the state. Thanks to the procedural delays of the various concerned departments owing to which the companies here remains a confounded lot.
Statistics available with the department of mines shows that as many as 18 companies have been granted ML while four companies have got PL. However, the companies having the centre’s nod are unable to carry out the mining work at the respective sites in the absence of statutory clearances required from the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), environment and forest, state pollution board clearance so on and so forth. Once armed with these clearances, the companies would be entitled for the lease to carry out their assigned tasks at the sites.
Interestingly, there are scores of companies that have been granted centre’s prior approval for more that two to four years back but the statutory clearances are proving the spoilsport at the ground level. “We are unable to begin work as clearances from the department concerned are awaited,” was the common refrain of the industrial representatives here.
The main functionary of the Electrosteel Company, Nirmal Kataraka, pointed out that the centre’s approval does not entitle them to begin work at the site instantly. The company has been granted centre’s approval for Kodlibad mines area in West Singhbhum for 192.30 hectares. The approval came on January 25, 2006. The state has asked the company to get the clearances from the related departments following which lease would be eventually granted for carrying out the mining work.
“It takes time to seek clearances from departments particularly environment, forest and pollution. Lots of departments are involved and all have their procedures that cannot be overlooked. Thus it takes time to begin work at the site,” Nirmal said.
Endorsing the viewpoint, the officials of the Sunflag firmly held that such clearances are taking nearly 3 to 5 years time. Consequently, the work at the ground level related to mining cannot be kicked off. “In some cases, the forest clearances are awaited for decades together, said the Sunflag official, Jagannathan Somu. Sunflag has been allotted 120 hectares at Kodlibad mines in the West Singhbum in 2006.
The official spokesperson of the Anandita Traders informed that the company has been allotted iron ore last year at Param-Baljori covering an area of 47.15 hectares. He said that normally the statutory clearances takes time of 20-24 months. “We have to give the mine plan, seek clearances from the various ministries at the centre as well as at the state level. Such process needs time,” the official said explaining that such things are normal in the day-to-day functioning.
Sanjeev Shekhar,
Media Consultant/Journalist/PR
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