Chhattisgarh to develop abandoned mines as water storage sites

Closed mining sites which arelying abandoned in Chhattisgarh will be developed as sourcesof water storage, a government official said on Sunday.

Various employment generation activities, includingfish farming, will be carried out at these sites with an aimto provide a source of livelihood to local people, he said.

On Friday, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel instructedall district collectors to draft an action plan on this withina month, the public relations department official said.

Baghel referred to the closed Kenapara coal mine inthe state's Surajpur district which has been developed as awater conservation site, where pisciculture and boatingactivities have become a source of income generation forlocals, the official said.

The CM has directed to identify all mined out siteswhich are lying abandoned in every district and prepare anaction plan to convert them into water storage bodies whereemployment-oriented activities can also be started, he said.

The expenditure to be incurred for developing thesesites can be arranged from funds available under the MGNREGA,District Mineral Fund, Corporate Social Responsibility,environment and infrastructure fund and other departmentalschemes in the respective districts, Baghel said.

The abandoned huge mine pits pose a threat to humanlife and several untoward incidents have been reported there,he noted.

The chief minister has asked the collectors to startthe renovation process of such mining sites before April thisyear so that water collection could begin there during thenext monsoon season.