Chh'garh to develop abandoned mines as water storage sites

Raipur: Closed mining sites which are lying abandoned in Chhattisgarh will be developed as sources of water storage, a government official said on Sunday.

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

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

Baghel referred to the closed Kenapara coal mine in the state's Surajpur district which has been developed as a water conservation site, where pisciculture and boating activities have become a source of income generation for locals, the official said.

The CM has directed to identify all mined out sites which are lying abandoned in every district and prepare an action plan to convert them into water storage bodies where employment-oriented activities can also be started, he said.

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

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

The chief minister has asked the collectors to start the renovation process of such mining sites before April this year so that

water collection could begin there during the next monsoon season.