In a significant development, the Indian Bureau of Mines has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Remote Sensing Centre of the Department of Space for monitoring mining activity through satellite technology.
As part of the MoU, the IBM would set up an exclusive remote sensing cell under the technical guidance of NRSC at its offices in Nagpur and Hyderabad. The cell will in turn utilise Bhuvan based services for monitoring mining activities as also for development of mobile app for field data collection to verify ground realities with respect of approved proposals.
The NRSC, according to officials, would carry out a pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of using high resolution satellite imagery in monitoring the changes over a period of time in select group of mines. The pilot project to be launched in Odisha and Hospet sector of Karnataka envisaged checking and validation of the consistency of differential geo positioning system points collected as part of the lease boundary survey programme.
IBM controller general R.K. Sinha and NRSC director V.K. Dadhwal signed the MoU in the presence of Ministry of Mines joint secretary Subhash Chandra. Mr. Subhash Chandra said the MoU paved the way for sustainable development and responsible use of natural resources. The departments concerned could leverage technology for near real time monitoring of the assets and ascertain whether the mining licencee was indulging in any irregularities.
The pilot project could be extended to other areas once it was successfully tested and the States too could become stakeholders in taking advantage of the agreement. Exhorting the NRSC and IBM to explore more areas of collaboration, he suggested the two to study the feasibility of utilising technology for restoration of the closed mines and areas where mining activities took place.
Mr. Sinha said the MoU envisaged training for the IBM staff in using the technology and this would be subsequently extended to the State Governments in the course of time. The MoU was significant for the IBM in the context that the officials could now monitor the activity through satellite technology instead of physical inspection every time.
The NRSC director said the centre had signed more than 30 MoUs in the past three months with organisations like the Central Water Commission, National Highways Authority of India and others as the data provided by satellite technology was near real time and it could be of immense use during disasters like floods. Andhra Pradesh Mining department secretary M. Girija Shankar lamented that the sector had come under severe criticism because of illegal activities by some individuals in the past. Telangana State mining director Sushil Kumar said the MoU would be advantageous to the State to check illegal mining. He recalled how the State witnessed illegal mining along the Karnataka border and said remote sensing could help the State in identifying the anomalies in the mining activities and take steps to regulate them.
