Jammu, Mar 11: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the ongoing reforms in the mining sector and assess measures aimed at curbing illegal mining across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Mining; Chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee; Divisional Commissioner, Jammu/Kashmir; Secretary, IT; IGP Jammu; Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir Minerals Limited; Director, Geology and Mining; and other senior officers. The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and Deputy Commissioners of various districts participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary reviewed the progress achieved under various mining sector reforms aimed at strengthening surveillance mechanisms, preventing illegal extraction of minerals and enhancing revenue realization from the sector.
The Chief Secretary also took a live demonstration of the Integrated Mining Surveillance System (IMSS), a digital platform designed to monitor the movement of vehicles transporting mining material across different districts of J&K.
He observed that there is still scope for further improvement in the system to ensure stricter checks against illegal mining activities.
Emphasizing the need for strengthening the technological framework, the Chief Secretary directed the department to share a clear problem statement with BISAG-N so that appropriate triggers can be developed to detect instances of illegal mining or extraction beyond permissible areas.
Additional Chief Secretary, Mining, Ashwani Kumar, informed the meeting that the department is actively working on upgrading the IMSS in coordination with BISAG-N.
The meeting was informed that out of 235 identified minor mineral blocks in the Union Territory, 81 are currently operational. LoIs have been extended to 10 blocks, while eight cases are pending with competent authorities. Mining leases for four blocks are expected soon, projected to generate around Rs 57 crore revenue for the UT.
It was informed that seven minor mineral blocks have been auctioned by the Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, while 22 more are in the pipeline and 47 blocks are awaiting No Objection Certificates from various departments across districts.
On installation of GPS tracking devices on vehicles involved in mining activities, it was informed that GPS devices had been installed on 3,942 such vehicles and 3,515 of them have already been integrated with IMSS platform by BISAG-N, while rest are expected to be integrated shortly.
The department also informed that enforcement measures have led to realization of a penalty amount of Rs 1.10 Cr from violators of mining regulations. It was further noted that on-spot penalties are being collected using PoS machines to ensure transparency and efficiency.
Additionally, the meeting was apprised that during the first two months of 2026 alone, the mining sector has generated revenue of Rs 137.27 Cr.
