Shimla, March 11 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh government on Friday allowed state-run Hindustan Salts Ltd to restart mining rock salt in the state, an official said.
The cabinet headed by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh approved the proposal of Hindustan Salts to invest Rs.230 crore, an industries department spokesmann told IANS.
He said Hindustan Salts Ltd had applied to the state industries department for the fresh mining lease in Darang and Gumma areas of Mandi district after their failure to obtain necessary clearances and permissions led to the closure of the salt mines on January 15, 2011.
It was extracting 1,500 metric tonnes of salt every year from Darang and Gumma mines.
The raw salt extracted from these mines is used for cattle consumption only and was not being refined to be made fit for human consumption.
The cabinet also approved a proposal of Indian Oil-Adani Gas Private Ltd. It has proposed to invest Rs.26.56 crore laying natural gas steel pipeline.
