Bihar mining operations are set for faster clearances and time-bound administrative procedures after Mines and Geology Minister Pramod Kumar directed officials to ensure that auctioned mineral blocks begin production and dispatch without delay. The move is intended to attract investment, create jobs and increase state revenue.
Kumar issued the directions while chairing a review meeting in Patna on Monday. The meeting examined the progress of several mineral blocks, including the Pipradih-Bhurwa and Chutiya-Nauhatta glauconite blocks and the Bhora-Kathra limestone block in Rohtas district.
Officials also reviewed developments at the auctioned Genjana nickel-chromium and platinum group elements block in Gaya. The minister instructed the department to complete pending clearances and other formalities quickly so that the allotted blocks can become operational at the earliest.
“An auction is not merely a process; its real benefit will come only when production begins on time,” Kumar said during the meeting. He also warned that delays in operationalising the blocks would not be tolerated.
The government’s focus on early production links the mining department’s administrative process to wider economic activity. Glauconite, limestone and other minerals can form part of industrial and construction supply chains, although the department’s review did not specify production timelines, expected output or the investment committed to each block.
The meeting also covered e-auctions of stone plots. Kumar emphasised transparent bidding and scientific surveys for the sustainable development of Bihar’s mineral resources. The directions place equal focus on accelerating mineral extraction and maintaining procedural and scientific oversight of the state’s mining activity.
Department secretary Avanish Kumar, senior officials and representatives of the Geological Survey of India attended the review. The minister said mineral exploration in Bihar would be strengthened through closer coordination with the GSI.
The immediate administrative task is to complete pending formalities for the reviewed blocks and move them towards production and dispatch. The government has not announced a specific deadline for commissioning the individual projects.
