Patna: Bihar government has introduced a new monitoring system aimed at strengthening oversight of mineral storage and transportation by making geo-fencing mandatory for all licensed mineral storage sites across the state.
The Department of Mines and Geology has issued a notification requiring storage licence holders to complete geo-fencing of their sites. The measure is intended to record the precise geographical location of each storage facility and ensure that e-challans are generated only from authorised locations.
Geo-Fencing Rules for Traders
Under the revised framework, small-scale mineral traders will be required to geo-fence their storage sites. Medium and large-scale traders must also geo-fence the weighbridges installed at their storage facilities.
According to the department, the geo-fencing exercise will be carried out by the Assistant Director, Mineral Development Officer or Mining Inspector of the respective district. Officials will inspect the site, record GPS coordinates and capture photographs of the four corners of the storage yard and weighbridge before uploading the information to the departmental portal.
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) will then activate geo-fencing for the approved site.
E-Challans Restricted to Authorised Locations
Once geo-fencing is completed, e-challans can be generated only from the approved geo-fenced location. The department said the system will improve online monitoring of mineral movement and reduce the scope for unauthorised transportation.
Officials said the new mechanism is expected to strengthen checks against fictitious storage facilities, illegal transportation of minerals and revenue leakage.
Provision for Exceptional Cases
The department has clarified that in cases where issuing e-challans directly from a storage site is not technically or geographically feasible, a separate operational range may be approved under special circumstances.
Such approval will be granted on the recommendation of the concerned District Mining Office to ensure legitimate business operations continue without disrupting regulatory oversight.
Amendment to Bihar Mineral Rules
The new system has been introduced under the 2026 amendments to the Bihar Mineral Rules, 2019.
According to the Department of Mines and Geology, the objective is to improve transparency in the mineral trade, strengthen digital monitoring of licensed storage centres and tighten enforcement against illegal mining and transportation across Bihar.
