The Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Government of Uttar Pradesh has been working towards using technology for better governance. In the latest example, the state government has raised revenue of ₹400 crore from mining business through its portal Mine Mitra. The amount was raised from the issuance of transit passes through Mineral Management Services provided by the portal, said an official spokesperson of the state government.
A total of 2,16,74,654 transit passes have been provided under EMM-11, 9,22,931 under E-Farm C and 38,87,026 under ISTP of the Mineral Management Services since 2017. Besides, online payment has been made to 506 lessees and 2154 brick kilns since July 2020.
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Mine Mitra was developed by the UP government to bring transparency into the mining business and check illegal activities as well as to provide accountable e-services to common people, farmers, lessees and transporters. The move also aims to end monopolies in the mining industry, encourage legal mining, and provide a level playing field for new entrepreneurs in order to bring transparency into the business and increase the state’s revenue from mining.
The portal has been developed in consultation with the Directorate of Geology & Mining and is currently providing several services such as online mineral management for lessee, stockists and transporters, services for citizens and farmers, Integrated Mining Surveillance System and the e-commerce platform Mineral Mart for consumers and suppliers.
Under the services for common people and farmers, the government has disposed of 1155 applications for stock licences as well as issued 1279 permits for agricultural land having mineral deposits, 435 for minerals in private land, 9697 permits for mining on common soil, and 1031 for buildings where minerals are discovered during construction since July 2020.
Under the Integrated Mining Surveillance System service of the portal, the government has done geo-fencing of 466 areas, installed PTZ cameras & weighbridge in mines in 330 areas, put RFID-based mining tags on over 80,000 heavy vehicles and set up automated check gates of which 16 are currently operational while work is underway on seven others.
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Automated mining check gates are currently operational in Fatehpur, Etawah, Baghpat, Jalaun, Mahoba, Banda, Saharanpur, Sonbhadra, and Jhansi districts. The system aims to check overloading and other illegal mining practices through regular monitoring of vehicles.