Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized a one day Conference on Mining, Safety & Environment: The Three Pillars of Chhattisgarh. Wherein Chief Guest Shri Rajesh Munat, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industries, Government of Chhattisgarh addressed the audience at the Conference. Shri N. Baijendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Public Relation, Housing & Environment, Government of Chhattisgarh gave a special address to the delegates present at the conference. Shri Ramesh Agrawal, Chairman CII Chhattisgarh State Council; Shri Umesh Agrawal, Past Chairman, CII Chhattisgarh State Council ; Mr Joydeep Mukherjee, State Head- CII Chhattisgarh State Office were present during the conference.
Welcoming Shri Rajesh Munat ji, Shri Ramesh Agrawal, said Chhattisgarh holds a major share of coal deposits in India, which has led to its ‘power hub’ aspirations. It is the only Indian State which has rich deposits of tin ore reserves. About one-fifth of the iron-ore in the country is mined in the state and one of the best-quality, iron-ore deposits in the world is found at the Bailadila mines in the South of Chhattisgarh from where it is exported to Japan and other countries. In addition, rich deposits of bauxite, limestone, dolomite and corundum are also found in the State, making it the ideal location for low-cost of production of end products such as cement and aluminium.
Shri N Bajendra Kumar talked about the Environment protection in the state. He said that best techniques available should be used for safety, irrespective of the cost the environment should be taken care of.
Shri Rajesh Munat during his address said that Industries should be more open to innovation and technology upgradation which not only will help them sustain a good environment but help them in streamlining their process towards sustainable development.
Mining and Mineral based industries cause pollution and continuous efforts are necessary to minimize the damage caused to land and water resources, apart from reducing air and sound pollution and also proper handling and management of hazardous and other solid wastes and mitigation of chemical accident from industries. Unbalance in ENVIRONMENT is caused by excessive exploitation of natural resources, limit less increase in population and speedy urbanization. People have realized the importance of environment protection during the last few years.
Synchronization of human, machinery and the workplace environment play a crucial role in the sustenance of the organization. Machinery accidents do happen in spite of adopting high tech processes because of behavioral issues. Hence the attitude towards SAFETY of both the employees and the top management is of utmost importance.
Shri Umesh Agrawal concluded the Inaugural session and thanked the sponsors for their contribution. The Sponsors for the Conference were Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board; Shri Bajrang Power & Ispat Ltd; Bharat Aluminium Company Limited, and Mallcom (India) Ltd.
Speakers during the Conference were Mr K K Shrivastava, Convenor- CII Chhattisgarh Mining Panel and CEO Chhattisgarh Captive Coal Mining Limited; Mr D L Choudhary, President ( Mines), Jayswal Neco Industries Ltd; Mr Lakshman Prasad, Advisor-Mining, Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd; Dr S K Pandey, President- Mines, Vandana Global Ltd; Mr A K Bapat, Deputy Chief Mining Engineer, South Eastern Coalfields Ltd; Mr Gabrielwilhelmus Diedericks, Mining Advisor, Joy Mining Services India Pvt Ltd; Mr Bikashendu Mehta from NMDC for the Session on Sustainable Mining in Chhattisgarh.
Dr R K Agrawal, Convenor, CII Chhattisgarh Safety & Environment Panel & Vice President (Projects) Real Ispat & Power Ltd; Shri P.V. Narsinga Rao, IFS , Member Secretary, Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, Government of Chhattisgarh; Mr Giriraj Mall, Executive Director, Mallcom Safety Pvt Ltd; Mr R K Sinha, Head - Safety & Ergonomics, Tata Steel Limited; Mr S K Acharya, Vice President, Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd; Mr Naveen Soni, Sr.Manager-OH&S, Ambuja Cement Ltd.
Large number of delegates was present during the Conference thereby making the event a grand success.