In order to introduce transparency and simplicity in the administration and management of mines and minerals; Khanij Online, a web portal developed by the department of mineral resources has been launched by the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Dr. Raman Singh. There are immense minerals in large parts of the State. It will help in E-Transit pass, filing of applications, payment of taxes and filing of Online returns.
Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh congratulated the Mineral Resources’ Department officials for smoothening the entire process. He said that the contributions of minerals’ resources in rapid development cannot be under-estimated. They play a vital role in socio-economic progress of Chhattisgarh. The economic health had improved because of Royalty on minerals, minerals’ fund, and District Minerals’ Fund.
The revenue in 2003 was merely Rs 400 crore and in 2017 it had risen to Rs 4,000 crore. The State has plans to expand railways’ network by about 1,300 kms which can be helped by Minerals’ Fund. Roads are also being laid at a rapid pace in which these funds are being utilized. Master plan had been implemented to make batter utilization of mineral resources for the next 25 years. About Rs 3,600 crore will be spent on development projects over the next three years from the District Minerals’ Trust Fund.
Dr Raman Singh said that mineral resources are our major strength and these should be utilized for the betterment of the state. Chief Minister called upon to utilize Online facility and MobileApp for the smooth functioning of the process. Paper work will be drastically reduced. Real-Time movement of vehicles at the checkposts and wave bridge can be gauged by sitting at headquarter. GPS, mobiles and high-tech I.T. equipments will be provided to the regional investigating officers.
The Chief Minister, in his address, mentioned that in January 2015, Chhattisgarh was first in the country to perform successful allocation of one Gold and three Limestone mines through e-auction and with this step, the State has furthered its commitment to Ease of Doing Business. He mentioned how this fits into the overall initiatives of the State in this respect and it is because of this commitment that the State achieved fourth rank for two consecutive years.
Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand said that Online portal is on the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ”Digital India’ Project. It is a step in the direction of ‘Ease of Doing Business.’smart
At the inauguration, Chief Secretary expressed that the portal will be extremely beneficial for businesses in the State as the portal has removed all physical touch points in the process. He also appreciated the provision of high quality handheld IT devices, GPS, mobile, scanner high quality handheld devices to the department. This would allow the department to monitor illegal mining/transportation of minerals.
Chhattisgarh State Minerals Development Corporation Chairperson Shivratan Sharma also addressed the gathering.
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The portal has been developed by M/s Infinium Solutions Pvt Ltd through the State Nodal Agency CHiPS (Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society).
At the launch programme detailed information was shared about the portal and queries of the various stakeholders were resolved. Mineral Resources’ Department Secretary Subodh Kumar Singh made a presentation on Online Minerals Portal. and demonstrated the features of the portal.
This is the first of its kind platform with the following features:
- Provision for application for E-Transit using barcode
- Real time assessment of application Payment of taxes and filing of returns can now be done online
- The main minerals will now be available to registered vehicles, licensors and end-use plants.
- The department plans to further integrate weigh-bridges and check posts with CCTV and RFID for end to end monitoring.
- Integration with RTO, Railway and Commercial Tax department has also been envisaged.
