VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has approved several reforms aimed at ensuring transparency and enhancing revenue of the mining department. During a review meeting on Wednesday, the Chief Minister approved major reforms including the decision to sell minor minerals through e-auction, collect seigniorage fee through outsourcing and fix seigniorage based on weight rather than size in granite mining.
Seigniorage will be fixed based on tonnage of the material and it is estimated that 35 to 40 percent income would be increased by this measure. It was decided to conduct e-auction of available mines, which is estimated to generate a revenue of Rs 1,000 crore.
The officials said the new reforms will come into force from September.The Chief Minister said the Vigilance and Enforcement section in the Mining Department should be effective and ensure there is no loss to the income of the government. He asked officials to ensure 60-79 lakh metric tonnes of sand is available before the rainy season begins. Panchayat Raj and Mines Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Principal Secretary (Mining) Gopal Krishna Dwivedi and Mining Director VG Venkat Reddy were present.