Odisha to form panel for mine lease demarcation

The Odisha government has agreed to form a committee to look into lease area encroachment by mine lease holders after getting direction from Shah Commission to this effect. The committee is scheduled to start functioning from March 4 and submit its report soon.

Illegal mining enquiry agency, Justice M B Shah Commission on Wednesday had asked the state government to form a committee to demarcate lease areas of different miners after they complained that the maps being referred by the Commission and the state government were not accurate.

"The committee will have seven members including representative from the state government, Shah Commission and Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM)," Shah said.

Determination of lease boundary is crucial because as per Mineral Concession Rule (MCR), 1960, mining activities carried out beyond lease area is defined as illegal mining, which can result in forfeiture of lease contract. Rule violation done within lease area attracts lesser punishment such as penalties. The miners had complained that the Shah Commission members superimposed Google images with the revenue map to determine lease area encroachment, which was not authenticate. Similarly, the differential global positioning system (DGPS) map prepared by the state government agency Odisha Space Application Centre (ORSAC) was also not up to the mark, the miners argued.

"There was some problem with the DGPS map. As of now 24 miners have proposed for fresh physical survey of their mines," said Deepak Mohanty, on the third day of hearing of the Commission here.

The miners have to pay Rs 4 lakh per square kilometer to conduct the physical survey of their mines. On the third day of the hearing, 54 miners, the state government and trade bodies presented their views before the Commission. "We told them that there was no illegal operation in Odisha in working mines. Illegal mining took place only in abandoned lease areas," said R K Sharma, secretary-general of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI). The hearing may continue up to March 4, source said.