CAG glare on unlawful iron ore stacking worth Rs 552 cr in Odisha

The Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) has unearthed illegal stacking of iron ore valued at Rs 552.50 crore by two lessees in Jajpur Road and Joda mining circles.

The CAG report on revenue sector for the year ended March 31, 2013 said 4.72 million tonne of iron ore was unlawfully stored outside the leasehold area.

The audit team, during scrutiny of the enquiry report of the State Level Enforcement Squad (August 2011) and other connected records in Jajpur Road circle observed that a lessee had stacked 556,000 tonne of iron ore in a forest area outside the lease area even as a proposal for de-reservation of the concerned forest area was pending with the Union ministry of environment & forests (MoEF).

Also, the mining authorities did not issue transit permit for removal of the ore from the leasehold area to  the stacked place at Baliparbat. The CAG report points out that the deputy director of mines (DDM) did not confiscate the stocked mineral valued at Rs 149.60 crore (inclusive of royalty of Rs 13.60 crore) nor raised demand for realisation of the price of the mineral.

In another case of unlawful mineral stocking in Joda circle, audit in November 2011, found that 4.18 million tonne of iron ore fines valued at Rs 402.90 crore were stored outside the leasehold area and the same was not reflected in the monthly returns furnished by the lessee.

The CAG observed that no action was taken by the DDM to confiscate the minerals till the time of audit though the lessee furnished compliance in August and December 2011 in response to the showcause notices issued for the irregularities.

In its reply, the government stated show cause notice was issued in July 2013 to the lessee by the DDM in July 2013 and further action would be taken after field verification.

However, the central auditor observed no action was taken to seize and dispose of the mineral for realisation of the price.