State urges IBM to expedite action on errant miners

The state steel & mines department has urged the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) to inform the department at the earliest on the action taken against errant miners who have raised ores in excess of the approved mining plan in the past 10 years.

It has also asked IBM to furnish details on approved quantities of production of all the 198 working mines as the same is not available with the Directorate of Mines.

"A committee was constituted by the steel & mines department for verification of annual production of different mines during the last 10 years in respect of iron ore, manganese, chromite, bauxite and limestone. In as many as 104 mining leases, annual production limit set by the IBM in the mining plan approved by them has been exceeded in at least one year during 2000-01 to 2009-10. Action taken by the IBM may be reported to the department at the earliest", A K Rath, additional secretary (steel & mines) has said in a letter dated July 29 to the Regional Controller of Mines, IBM-Bhubaneswar.

 

The department has also observed that in a large number of cases, the consent to operate was not taken by the lessees. It has asked the State Pollution Control Board to take appropriate action against such miners under the provisions of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 for violation of provisions of the said Acts.

Besides, the steel and mines department has also sought intervention of the state forest & environment department for taking action under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 in cases where production has been more than what is allowed under environmental clearance issued under the provisions of the Act.

A six-member committee headed by the Director (Mines) was constituted in August last year to look into cases of the miners who had raised ores beyond the IBM approved mining plan. After the committee submitted its report, it was referred to the IBM.

The excess mining has been in case of iron ore, limestone, manganese and chromite and there are cases where the miners have raised ores in excess of the IBM approved Mining Plan for a year or so in the last ten years.

The committee was constituted as per the order of the state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, to look into cases of excessive lifting of minerals by the miners and recommend the imposition of penalty on the errant miners.