Himachal govt to auction three limestone deposits to boost revenue, employment

The Himachal Government will soon invite bids for the auction of three limestone deposits in Arki, Sunni and Chamba for the extraction of high steel-grade limestone and for setting up cement plants, which have been pending for over a decade.

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Even as cases related to the setting up of five cement plants are embroiled in litigation in various courts of law, the state government is set to go ahead with the auction of mining leases at Sherpur in the Arki area of Solan, Sunni near Karsog and Broh Shind deposits in Chamba district.

In fact, earlier attempts to auction some of these limestone deposits had failed to evoke interest among investors. “The auction of the mining leases will bring the much-needed revenue to the government and create employment opportunities for locals, especially in interior and remote areas of the state,” said Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan.

The state government had signed a MoU with Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Ltd last month so that the agency could function as a platform for the auction of mining leases in the state in a transparent manner, he said.

The deposits at Sherpur in Arki are rich in steel-grade limestone, used in making steel. In fact, with the extension of the rail line to Bilaspur and beyond, the logistics for the transportation of the mineral will make the project viable.

On March 17, 2022, the National Mining Development Corporation (NMDC) had surrendered the limestone mining lease allotted to it at Sherpur for the extraction of steel-grade limestone.

The plant had been allotted to the NMDC in August 1991 but even after two decades, the work had not started at the site.

The NMDC and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) had signed an agreement on November 18, 2009, for a joint venture while Virbhadra Singh was the Union Minister for Steels. In fact, there was a proposal to invest Rs 260 crore for starting production at the 100 million tonne reserves at the site, but the proposal never materialised.

“As far as the limestone deposits at Broh Shind in Chamba are concerned, we are toying with the idea of trifurcating the site to have smaller units to make them economically viable,” said Rakesh Prajapati, Director, Industries.

By trifurcating the deposits at Broh Shind, the government is hopeful that three smaller cement plants can be set up, which can help meet the requirement of Chamba and Kangra districts, apart from the needs of Punjab and Haryana.

The base auction amount for these deposits is so huge that no investor has come forward in the past to take over the site for setting up a cement plant.

Mining remains one of the three sectors, apart from tourism and power, for revenue generation for the cash-strapped state government. Of the 16 limestone mineral blocks in Himachal, five having reserves of 1,580 million tonnes are under litigation before the high court. Four cement plants of Ultratech Ltd, Ambuja Ltd, ACC Ltd and CCI Ltd are functioning in the state at present.

Earlier bids failed to draw investors

• The governement is ready for the auction of mining leases at Sherpur in Solan, Sunni near Karsog and Broh Shind deposits in Chamba.
• Earlier attempts to auction some of these limestone deposits had failed to evoke interest among investors.