Shah panel to probe all mine leases in last 60 yrs

The Justice M B Shah Commission of enquiry which is on a visit to Odisha will probe all mining leases allocated in the state since 1952.

“We are going to probe all mining leases granted in the state since 1952. The panel will examine whether these leases are operational or closed,” said U V Singh, head of the probe panel.

The panel in its second day of scrutiny into alleged irregularities in the mining activities had invited some private mine owners from Keonjhar district.

“As of now, I cannot divulge the details of investigation,” said Singh. It is also not clear on whether the panel would take up field visits of mines.

Official sources, however, said, the Shah Commission was likely to visit the Koira belt in Sundergarh district.

The commission may visit a few mines in the Koira sector which they skipped during its last visit to the state. This time, the panel is likely to take up field scrutiny of mining leases of state owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). But there is no definitive comment from the panel till now regarding their plans for field visits, said a senior official of steel & mines department.

The investigation team consisting of officials from forest, mining and vigilance departments of Gujarat and Karnataka as well as Railways, will be in Odisha till October 11. The commission has already submitted its report on illegal mining in Goa in two parts. However, it is non-committal on a time-frame for submission of a report on Odisha.

The commission had sought relevant information from the mining, forest and revenue departments as well as commercial tax directorate under finance department on areas like digitisation of mine lease boundaries and cases of violations under mining and forest laws.

In December 2011, an eight member team of the commission led by Justice M B Shah, a former Supreme Court judge, had visited select mines under Joda mining circle in Keonjhar district and had taken serious note of illegal mining activities, stating that it would not have been possible without the connivance of bureaucrats.

The commission also raised concern over the rampant extraction of iron ore by miners in excess of the approved mining plan especially in the Joda mining circle, urging the state to curb production so as to ensure that the finite mineral resource is left for future generations. The commission had expressed displeasure over Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) for its alleged inaction against miners involved in ore extraction beyond the approved mining plan. The mines inspected by the probe panel during its previous visit include Sarada Mines, Joda (east) mines of Tata Steel, Kasia iron ore and dolomite mines of Essel Mining & Industries, Mideast Integrated Steel's (Mesco) Barbil mines, Unchabali iron ore & manganese ore mines of Indrani Patnaik, Patnaik Minerals Pvt Ltd under Joda circle, Jajang mines of Rungta Mines, Mala Ray mines and B D Patnaik's Kalapahad mines. The panel members had also visited the Paradeep port.