Shah panel members to revisit Odisha May 24

Members of a commission of inquiry led by retired Supreme Court Justice M.B. Shah will visit Odisha again May 24 to further investigate alleged mining illegalities in the state, an official said Thursday.

The state government has been informed about the visit of senior forest officer Biswajeet Mishra and geologist A.V.S. Prasad of the Shah Commission. They will visit mines in Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts during their week-long stay, Director of Mines Deepak Mohanty told IANS.

The Justice M.B. Shah panel, appointed by the central government in November 2010, has been investigating allegations of illegal mining in several mineral-rich states. The members of the commission visited Odisha several times in the past two years.

Justice Shah, along with his team members, visited the state in March this year. He had said the commission was unlikely to meet the July 16 deadline for submitting its final report to the central government.