Transportation time being extended

Tuesday, 22 Nov 2011

BS reported that Karnataka state government likely to widen window for transporting iron ore purchased at the electronic auctions.

Presently, the Monitoring Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee the auctions, has restricted the transportation of iron ore to 12 hours, from 6 AM to 6 PM.

Mr Vinod Nowal CEO and director of JSW Steel Limited said that “The Karnataka steel manufacturers association had requested the state government to permit the movement of iron ore round the clock. Considering that the delay in the transport of iron ore is affecting production, the committee has agreed to extend the timings from the present 12 hours to 16 hours.”

He said that the matter is before the chief minister of Karnataka, Mr DV Sadananda Gowda for his approval.

He said that “Unless the government allows transportation of the raw material round the clock, it would be difficult to maintain the production levels and we cannot shut down the furnaces.”

Mr Nowal said that of the 4.4 million tonnes of iron ore won by JSW at the E auctions, the company could hardly move 1.2 million tonnes due to the restrictions.

As per the new system drawn up by the state’s Department of Mines and Geology, the successful bidders are issued bulk permits after they pay the royalty, forest development tax and VAT for the ore won at the auctions. Subsequently, they have to get their respective holograms and tripsheets from the deputy director of mines and geology before loading the ore. They can then secure the forest permit from the department of forests before moving the material to their respective steel mills.

(Sourced from BS)