Odisha acquires iron ore mine after proofs of illegal mining

OMC to auction 300,000 tonne leftover iron ore fines

The state government has taken over the B K Mohanty iron ore mines at Uliburu in Joda area after it was established prima facie that the miner had illegally raised minerals beyond its permitted area without any lawful authority.

"We have given instruction to the local mines office to take over the mine. The regional director of OMC (Odisha Mining Corporation) has been asked to seize the leftover iron ore and auction it," said Rajnikant Singh, the state steel and mines minister.

It is estimated that about 300,000 tonne iron ore fines are stacked at the mining site.

The lease holder was operating the mine upto 2009, after expiry of the lease period in 2003, without having necessary clearances and is claimed to have excavated minerals worth Rs 1,800 crore. The mine was even running without the knowledge of original lease holder as the owner had transferred the ownership to Deepak Gupta via power of attorney.

After the state enforcement squad and vigilance found about illegal operation of the mine following a field level probe, the government had vowed to recover the money made from mineral sales. It had even instructed the Director of Mines not to accept the lease renewal application of B K Mohanty and asked the industries department not to renew the (Memorandum of Understanding) MoU of Deepak Steel and Power Ltd, owned by Deepak Gupta, the power of attorney holder.

The government has also suspended two mines inspectors of Joda mining circle following investigations by the state revenue and vigilance department earlier this month.

This is the first time that the state government has taken over the operation of a mine after the news about large scale illegal mining activities in the state came into open in 2009, when the government woke up to a series of scam allegations and had instructed vigilance probe.