The standing committee on the Steel and Mines department has warned of massive revenue losses and environmental damage, even as successive audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) point to deep systemic lapses and weak enforcement.
The House panel, headed by Sudhir Ranjan Pattjoshi, BJP MLA from Dharmagarh constituency, has pointed to illegal extraction of minerals, rampant encroachment of government and forest land, several instances of soil theft, and irregularities in mineral quality certification across districts.
Describing the violations as widespread, the committee has asked the department to draw up a comprehensive action plan to strengthen monitoring mechanisms, detect illegal mining activities, and take stringent action against offenders. It has also sought detailed, district-wise data on mineral extraction and dispatch to plug gaps in oversight.
The standing committee observed that the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has handed over the Khandadhar mines to the Adani Group. Since the committee did not find any dispatch details of minerals extracted from the mines, it has asked the department to submit a detailed report on the operational status of Khandadhar mines from October 2023 to date.
Highlighting long-pending irregularities, the House panel pointed out that two mines at Biramitrapur earlier operated by TISCO and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) were neither formally closed nor reassigned even after 25 years. This, it said, has led to repeated accidents and continued losses to the state exchequer. It has also sought a status report on these mines and action taken against mines failing to meet annual production targets.
The panel raised serious concerns over recurring soil theft and directed authorities to submit a detailed report on action taken against defaulters, along with an estimate of the volume of soil illegally removed from different parts of the state.
Linking mining mismanagement to socio-economic fallout, the panel recommended operationalising non-functional mines to generate employment and curb human trafficking. It also flagged serious irregularities in balighat (sand mining) auctions, noting that defaulter leaseholders were being allowed to re-enter the bidding process.
The committee has further recommended that balighats where extraction has been completed should either be extended, subject to availability of reserves, or cancelled to prevent misuse. It also stressed the need to strengthen infrastructure, including the construction of durable roads capable of bearing heavy mineral-laden traffic.
"There are excess mineral extractions from the Kanjipalli quarry in Balangir district and the Ambapani stone quarry in Subarnapur district. The government should immediately take action against the leaseholders after thorough enquiry. The roads through which mineral-loaded trucks are plying should be constructed in such a way that these roads should be capable enough to bear these loads,” the panel report stated.
The findings came against the backdrop of similar concerns repeatedly raised by the CAG, which had recently flagged illegal mining in some districts due to weak regulation and poor enforcement. Audit reports had pointed to significant revenue losses due to illegal extraction and non-realisation of royalty, attributing it to delayed action and ineffective monitoring by authorities.
CAG audits also exposed large-scale irregularities in minor mineral extraction, including illegal mining in restricted and forest areas, absence of scientific assessment of reserves, and failure to carry out proper measurement before and after extraction. In several cases, mining operations continued without valid clearances or beyond permissible limits.
“The committee has asked the state government to prepare an action plan to strengthen surveillance and monitoring to detect illegal mining, take immediate measures to resolve the issues flagged and plug the leaks, besides submitting a consolidated report on the actions taken as per the recommendations,” Pattjoshi told Business Standard.
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