BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday laid the foundation for the new corporate office of Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) at Jayadev Vihar in the city. The platinum-rated office complex will spread over six acres of land and be a new landmark in the state capital.
The CM appreciated OMC for leading by example in not only contributing to the economy but also to sustainable mining and spreading happiness amongst the people through its various people-centric development and welfare activities.
“Be it sports, health, education or periphery development, OMC has always put its best efforts into serving society. It has set up five CBSE-affiliated fully residential schools in the periphery of its mining area. The mobile health unit is an excellent initiative and will play an important role in providing health care facilities at the doorsteps of the people in the operational areas,” he said.
The CM also laid the foundation for the Drill Core library at Jagannath Prasad near Chandaka and five Odisha Mining Adarsh Vidyalayas. He inaugurated seven quality control labs, 10 sample processing units, and one chrome ore beneficiation plant of OMC and flagged off six mobile health units.
Stating that OMC is at the forefront of adopting cutting-edge technology and sustainable mining practices, the chief minister urged all miners to put more effort into sustainable mining by adopting new initiatives of the international benchmark. OMC produced more than 30 million tonne of ores in the last fiscal with a turnover of over Rs 14,000 crore to become the fourth largest mining company in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick highlighted the fast-paced transformation the state is undergoing and the contribution of the mining corporation in the transformation. Additional chief secretary of Steel and Mines DK Singh and OMC managing director Balwant Singh also spoke.