Advisor Baseer Khan reviews Corporations of I&C

Jammu: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Baseer Ahmad Khan today chaired a meeting to review functioning of the Corporations of Industries and Commerce department.

The meeting was attended by Managing Director JK Minerals Limited and Managing Director JK Cements Limited.

Regarding the JK Minerals Limited, the Advisor had a detailed review of the coal mines of Kalakote and Kotla, gypsum mines of Assar and Parlanka, lime stone quarry etc. He also took stock of impediments in successful exploitation of this natural wealth.

While speaking on the occasion, the Advisor directed the concerned to conduct a thorough study of coal mines in Kalakote. He said that there should be mapping of the areas so as to focus mining in those areas which are economically viable. He also directed the officers to constitute a team of the concerned departments for further exploration bringing more mineral rich areas under its ambit.

The Advisor stressed on the need of running these projects on commercial lines in order to meet the market requirements besides directing them to concentrate their men and machinery on those projects which are economically more viable.

MD JK Minerals also apprised the Advisor about the financial position of the Corporation besides status of the projects with regard to extraction of minerals along with revenue generated from these projects and the projects in hand.

He said that the Corporation is carrying out the extraction of coal from its three coal mines situated in Kalakote and Kotla. He said that every effort is being made to sustain this oldest activity of the Corporation by increasing the coal production at a sustainable level and said that 1000 metric tons of coal is being extracted per month.

Regarding the two gypsum mines one each at Assar in Doda and Parlanka in Ramban, the MD said that the Corporation has maximized its effort and increased production by three fold to 30,000 MTS per month. He said that the Corporation is keen to extract maximum possible Gypsum reserves from Parlanka in a time bound manner and has concentrated it’s men and machinery in this Project.

MD, JK Mineral, also apprised the Advisor of various issues related to streamlining of the Corporation.

While reviewing the JK Cements Limited, the Advisor directed the MD to conduct an in-depth examination of the issues of the Corporation from the last 4-5 years and then further course of action will be decided accordingly.