Shah panel members begin Odisha visit

To verify mine lease survey and demarcation work

A two-member team of the Justice M B Shah Commission of enquiry is embarking on a five-day visit to Odisha from Friday to authenticate the ongoing survey and demarcation work for 44 mining leases in the state.

In this visit, the probe panel is represented by Bishwajeet Mishra, conservator of forests (Karnataka) and Janardan Prasad, senior geologist, Gujarat unit of Geological Survey of India. The panel members are scheduled to visit Barbil sector on May 24 and mine areas in Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts on May 25-26. On May 27, the commission members will check the mine map generation procedure at the laboratory of Odisha Space Application Centre (ORSAC) and also deliberate with top state government officials.

"The members of the Shah commission are visiting the state to check the survey and demarcation work going on for mine leases. After field visit, the panel members will have a wrap-up meeting with us on Monday”, said steel & mines secretary Rajesh Verma.

The state government had recently completed its field probe taken up by an inter-departmental team to detect presence of mining operations beyond leasehold area. While the field survey at various sites in iron ore rich Keonjhar district has found some old and abandoned pits, no major irregularities have been detected. The field verification was carried out by members of the state level enforcement squad, deputy directors of mines, mining officers and forest officials.

As per the instructions of the Shah commission, the state government had constituted five teams- one each for three mining circles in Keonjhar district and two mining circles in Sundergarh district. Each of the teams consisted of two members each from the departments of revenue, forest and steel & mines. These committees were headed by a scientist from ORSAC.

The visiting members of the Shah panel would check if the field verification was carried out in compliance with the panel's guidelines. The members would also check if land use by the mine lessees is in accordance with the forest diversion plan, procedure followed in grant of surface rights to miners and safety measures undertaken by the miners in the safety zone.

Out of 44 mine leases where the fresh mapping survey was being carried out, data collection is through in case of 19 leases.

Fresh survey of mine leases was necessary after pointed out discrepancies in mapping of lease boundaries. The miners held that the panel members superimposed Google images with the revenue map to determine lease area encroachment, which they claimed was not authentic. Similarly, the DGPS (differential global positioning system) map prepared by the state government agency ORSAC was also not up to the mark, the miners had argued.