Joda DDM orders shuts down of two Ahluwalia mines

The Deputy Director of Mines (DDM) of Joda mining circle has shut down two mines owned by Ahluwalia family in the region after raids were conducted on their homes and offices by the state sales tax and vigilance sleuths.

“Last week I had issued a notice to the mines owner of Thakurani and Nuagaon iron ore mines for halting production and despatch at their respective mines following raids by sales tax and vigilance sleuths. They have been asked not to start operation until further order so that the inquiry can be conducted smoothly,” U C Jena, Joda DDM said.

Raids were conducted on the home and office premises of Prashant Alhuwalia, the owner of several iron ore and manganese mines in Joda and Koira mining circle, a sponge iron factory and a mining crusher unit citing evasion of sales tax and other rules.

 

The sleuths had also searched the house of K J S Ahluwalia, the mine owner and brother of Prashant Alhuwalia and his offices in Rourkela and Barbil. Alhuwalia has been in dock for violation of Rule 37 of Mineral Concession Rule, 1960 which says that mine lease holders cannot sublet their mine or transfer their lease right to any other entity.

KJS Ahluwalia has the lease right for Nuagaon and Panduliposi mines in Joda circle while Kaypee Enterprise, where Prashant Ahluwalia holds a key position, owns the Thakurani mines in the same area. The recent Joda DDM order halting production and despatch applies to Thakurani mines owned by Kaypee Enterprise and Nuagaon mine of KJS Ahluwalia.

It may be noted, the joint raids by the officials of state vigilance and commercial tax departments were conducted during the first week of this month on miners and hotel owners who were suspected to have played back-up roles in the recent unsuccessful bid by some rebel BJD leaders to oust chief minister Naveen Patnaik when he was away on a official tour to London.

The team had raided the establishments of these businessmen in Rourkela and Barbil. During the raid, they searched the documents and accounts of Hotel Radhika Regency and vehicle showrooms owned by an industrialist Arun Dua in Rourkela along with Ahluwalia corporate office in the same city.