BHUBANESWAR:Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday discussed about restoration of mines degraded land for vegetation and farming purpose with senior officials of Agriculture Ministry and International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in New Delhi.
With vast stretches of land in Angul district degraded due to excessive mining for coal, Pradhan requested ICRISAT scientists to take a project in the district. The Minister said that ICRISAT made a presentation how to restore the degraded land for agricultural purpose by using scientific methods.
It was discussed to take up a pilot project in Balanda coal mines areas of Angul district for ecological restoration, which will benefit the local people. The international agency will look into the technical aspects of restoration of mine soils. This is aimed at producing better land use and productivity.