DGPS tech to be used for Bayyaram survey

- New technology to provide accuracy in finding mining areas and prevent encroachments - India becomes third country to adopt A technology after USA and Canada

Patan Afzal Babu

Hyderabad : Though strong opposition within Congress and from other parties on the allotment of Bayyaram iron ore mines to RINL (Rastriya Ispat Nigam Limited) in Visakhapatnam has dogged the government, the State Forest Department is making all arrangements to conduct a survey on iron ore mining with the advanced Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS), which has been adopted recently.

In fact, it could be the first State in the country to adopt the advanced DGPS technology instead of GPS to identify the mining area in the reserve forest lands to issue a clearance certificate to the lease owner.A The officials of the Forest department said that on the instruction of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), the department swung into action to take up the survey. Under the new technology, the department will survey the area accurately and fix the borders without any violations during the extraction of ore from the forest lands.

Additional PCCF (Forest Conservation Act) PK Sharma told The Hans India that the satellite based technology will provide accuracy in finding the locations for mining. This will help to avoid exploitation of forest lands. In the previous system, forest lands were demarcated without accurate information on the mining area, which resulted in the indiscriminate digging of forest lands. In some cases, the forest lands were also encroached during the mining period.

Under the new technology, the leased companies will be allowed to mine only the areas having iron ore and this would avoid encroachments during the mining period. After USA and Canada, India has become the third nation to adopt the advanced technology. If any violation like crossing the demarcated areas is found in the mining, contractors will be fined depending on the extent of violation of rules. The State government had recently allocated 5,342 hectares for mining in Warangal, Khammam and Karimnagar districts.

As per the procedure, the survey will be launched once the Directorate of Mines and Geology forwards the requisition letter to the department. After conducting the survey by local District Forest Officer (DFO) and PCCF with the help of the maps provided by Survey of India, the survey report will be forwarded to the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment. The expert committee comprising Forest officials and NGOs at Centre will study the report and if required visit the mining area.

In the mean time, the officials of Union Ministry from the regional head office located in Bangalore will prepare another report. The Centre will study the two reports and come to a conclusion on leasing the mines. The Centre will only fix the term for mining depending on the availability of iron ore.A It is also mandatory that before getting the permission, the mining company should also submit a letter to the government agencies informing to take up afforestation in other areas to compensate equal to the mined forest land.