CM for private participation in mineral exploration

HYDERABAD: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday called for encouragement of private participation in mineral exploration in the state.
Inaugurating a three-day workshop on ‘Governing for results’ for the mines and geology department, Naidu said the government would remove hurdles in granting licence for mineral exploration.
The government had set up a committee to do away with inspections and needless permissions in all departments, the chief minister added.
Referring to the natural gas find in the Krishna-Godavari (K-G) basin, Naidu said the government would utilise the forthcoming Partnership Summit for exploring gas-based industrial development of the state.
Naidu said Andhra Pradesh had the second largest mineral reserves in the country but as most of the reserves were concentrated in the Agency areas there were certain problems in granting licence for exploration to the private sector.
Naidu called upon the officials of the department to prepare action plans to increase the revenue from the current target of Rs 665 crore. Revenue generation would be increased through the levy of sales tax on the gas in the K-G basin.
Mines and geology minister A Uma Madhav Reddy and principal secretary, industries and commerce, Jaiander Singh were present.