Activist moves Justice Shah panel for action agst errant mines

In a memorandum to the commission's team now conducting its probe in the state, activist P C Sahu claimed that due to over-extraction of minerals, irregularities in mining operations and lapses on the part of officials the state exchequer suffered loss of crores of rupees.

Stating that he had earlier submitted a memorandum to the Commission during its visit to Odisha last year, Sahu said he appeared before the panel's team here today and gave a fresh memorandum to its leader U V Singh, also Principal Conservator of Forest in Karnataka.

Demanding thorough investigation into all mining operations and allocation of mines to identify the culprits, he said concrete steps must be taken to impose penalty on mines owners who had resorted to excess mineral extraction and continued operations without renewal of lease.

Citing a number of irregularities, the activist said he had pointed out loss to the tune of Rs two lakh crore to the state exchequer in his earlier memorandum, while the fresh memo claimed a loss of an additional Rs 20,000 crore. "The commission should recommend stringent action against errant government officials and others," he said. More