Lucknow, March 18 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh mining department is set to generate significantly higher revenue during the 2023-24 financial year than the previous fiscal.

The increase in the overall collections has been possible because of close monitoring on defaulters and the strong focus on recovery of dues from them, said a government spokesman on Monday.

In terms of year-on-year (YoY) growth, the department is confident of at least 20 per cent increase in the revenue this fiscal year. In fact, the YoY growth during the 11-month period (April 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024) was recorded to 27 per cent.

According to the spokesman, while during the last financial year, the department was able to corner about Rs 3,350 crore, this time the annual collection figure is set to cross the Rs 4,000 crore mark for the first time.

The department has asked the district collectors to issue recovery certificates against the lease holders and contractors who did not settle the dues of the department in the past while focusing on finding new mineral reserves across the state.

A senior officer from the department revealed that regular follow-ups were also done with the government agencies such as the public works department to deposit the pending royalty fees to cover the cost of the material being used during the construction activities.

To bolster its fortunes further during the next fiscal year, the department has approached Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur to help it in bringing down the study time through use of latest tools and technology.

“We want to bring the turnaround time of various studies that are conducted before permission for mining is granted while protecting the ecology and environment,” said Mala Srivastava, director, geology and mining department, UP.