Bhubaneswar It is like carrying coal to Newcastle. Orissa, which already has a huge reserve of iron ore and bauxite, is, of late, importing the two raw materials.

Realising this, the state government has now decided to put in place a mechanism to ensure raw material supply from the state mines to the mineral-based industries in the state. The state government has constituted a three-member ministerial panel under the chairmanship of finance minister Prasanna Acharya to formulate a policy to ensure smooth supply of minerals such as iron ore, bauxite, manganese and chrome ore to industries based in the state on a long-term basis. The other members of the committee include industries minister Niranjan Pujhari and steel & mines minister Ranjani Kant Singh.