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Jaipur, Oct 17 (IANS) In a significant step towards transparency and digital transformation, Rajasthan’s mines department is set to implement online weighing scales, vehicle tracking and GPS-based monitoring system in the mining sector by the end of this year.
These systems aim to create a dispute-free, transparent and paperless monitoring environment in mining operations in the state. Principal Secretary of Mines and Petroleum Department, T. Ravikant said that under the direction of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, the department is progressing in a phased manner to establish a complete digital system.
The online mechanism is expected to streamline operations for mineral leaseholders while strengthening monitoring between leaseholders, royalty contractors and the department.
Ravikant along with Mines Director Mahavir Prasad Meena and other senior officials on Friday reviewed the status of current use of existing online modules and development of new digital systems.
He said the department is rapidly working on digital transformation in response to complaints related to incorrect mineral weighing, overcharging by royalty contractors and irregularities in mineral transportation. These issues not only hamper operations for mine owners but also result in revenue losses for the state government.
To address these challenges, the Department is developing a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system that will support a completely online, simplified and paperless operational framework. He stressed that this would benefit both mine owners and the government by ensuring better compliance and reducing revenue leakages.
Ravikant said the department’s IT team is working on the development of 22 digital modules, some of which – including online mining plan approval and nodule issuance – have already been operationalized.
He directed the officials to ensure that all work related to operational modules and mobile applications is done exclusively online.
He directed the Directorate to monitor field-level implementation and ensure regular use of these systems by departmental staff.
“The state government is committed to making the mining sector paperless, so that citizens and businesses do not have to run from one office to another for mining-related services,” he said. Director of Mines, Mahavir Prasad Meena confirmed that the IT team of the department is working at full capacity to finalize the remaining modules.
He said monitoring and analysis tools are being refined to ensure effective field-level implementation. Additional Director, DMGOMS, Sheetal Aggarwal provided a detailed progress report on module development during the review meeting. Joint Secretary Mines Arvind Saraswat, Additional Director Mahesh Mathur, Additional Director Geology Alok Jain, SME NS Shaktawat, Pratap Meena, Kamleshwar Baregama, OSD Srikrishna Sharma, SG Sunil Verma, ACP Jayesh Ninama and other senior officers were present in the meeting.
–IANS
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