State cancels mining license of scam-tainted RBT

After being cornered by the Opposition political parties over the multi million crore mining scam, the Orissa government has finally acted tough on the issue.

It has cancelled the mining license of Ram Bahadur Thakur Limited (RBTL)- the exposure on whose involvement in the scam had led to opening of the Pandora’s box on similar illegal mining operations by other companies.

The cancellation of the mining license of RBTL, which has been done based on available evidence, follows a rather prolonged administrative probe by the state steel and mines department.

Observers feel that with the Assembly session beginning on June 22 and the state government wary of the storm to be raised by the opposition parties, the state steel and mines department is keen to expedite action against the illegal miners. The allegation of illegal mining in the state had snowballed into a major controversy with the Opposition, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mounting pressure on the state government to order a CBI probe into the scam.

While the mining license of RBTL stand revoked, other companies, also facing similar allegations, like Arjun Ladha and B C Dev are currently facing administrative inquiry. The licenses of these two companies are also likely to be cancelled before the Assembly session, sources said.

These companies were carrying out illegal mining operations on reserved forest land without the requisite clearance of the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).

It may be noted that in July last year, the Orissa government had ordered a vigilance enquiry into the alleged mining scam in Keonjhar district. The areas where these illegal operations were going on included Rugudi, Rudukela and Katusahi mines in Keonjhar district.

Meanwhile, there are 245 cases of renewal of mining licenses in the state and notices have already been issued to these companies to furnish the necessary documents for renewal. It may be noted that the operation of around 220 mines has been suspended in the wake of the scam.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of India has started hearing a case involving illegal raising of minerals in Orissa. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan had asked the Orissa government to file its response within six weeks before further hearing is taken up.

The state government had also informed the Supreme Court that it would implement most of the recommendations of Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the court which had conducted a probe into the issue earlier.

It may be noted that the CEC submitted its interim report to the Supreme Court on April 26, 2010 with a set of recommendations pertaining to illegal mining activities in Orissa.

The CEC had suggested that the Renewal Mining Lease (RML) cases, which are pending with the state government for a long time, should be disposed of expeditiously in a time bound manner. Deemed extension clauses should only be used in contingency situation and can’t be availed indefinitely.

It also suggested that the mining in non-forest areas can be allowed only after obtaining the environmental and other statutory clearances by the lease holder.