In the aftermath of allegations of illegal mining activities in the state, the Orissa government has taken a series of measures to check the illegal mines. This included revamping the mineral administration, formation of State Level Task Force (SLTF) and District Level Task Force (DLTF), Digitization of the map of the lease area, streamlining the ore transport and export using the Railways and Port network, introduction of the new transit pass (TP) with hologram among others.
The Orissa government has constituted a State Level Task Force (SLTF) under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, which is regularly meeting and discussing various issues concerning the illegal mining and transportation of minerals among others.
Detail discussions are held with various agencies and organizations to check illegal mining, transportation and theft of minerals in the state. Similarly, a District Level Task Force (DLTF) has been formed under the chairmanship of the concerned district collectors to check this menace within that district.
To check illegal transportation of minerals using the network of Railways and Ports, a detailed regulatory system has been put in place following the request of the Hon’ble Chief Minister Sri Naveen Patnaik to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
The Railway authorities have agreed to measures like verifying the transit pass issued for the consignment before allowing its stocking at the rail siding and subsequent loading on to the rakes, to check illegal transportation of minerals in Orissa. The entry and exit restrictions have been put in place which is applicable to the private railways siding of Tata and SAIL.
To get rid of the fake TPs which were detected on certain occasions, the government has introduced new Transit Pass (TP) for the transport of minerals with watermark and new hologram from April, 2010.
The digital mapping of the lease areas are being prepared using the latest technology used by the revenue and disaster management department through the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) and ORSAC. This is expected to help in the demarcation of lease boundary lines and thereby check illegal mining.
The genuineness of the license issued for storage and trade of minerals under the OMPTS (Orissa Mineral Prevention of Theft, Smuggling), Rules 2007 is also being reviewed on a regular basis. More than 680 such licenses have been suspended and show cause notice has been served under the rule.
The Police in the districts of Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts have been given special powers to search and seize the minerals transported illegally, the vehicles and the persons engaged in such illegal activities.
To check illegal trade of minerals in the border areas, the state government has sent a proposal to the Jharkhand chief minister for constitution of a joint committee consisting of the officials of both the state. The Chief Minister Sri Naveen Patnaik has already sent a letter to his Jharkhand counterpart seeking his co-operation in the matter.
Regular raids are being conducted by the SLTF and DLTF in different mining belts of the state. As a result, the government has seized around four lakh tons of illegally mined minerals including iron ore, manganese and bauxite from the Joda-Barbil and Koira regions of Keonjhar district from April 2009 to May 2010.
In the aftermath of the multi crore mining scam which had caught the state government in a tight spot, 384 illegal activities were detected during this period which includes 292 activities in the Joda-Barbil belt and 92 activities in the Koira region. The value of these seized minerals has been estimated at Rs 17.65 crore. As many as 222 vehicles involved in illegal mining activities were also seized.
The state government has realized Rs 6.91crore from the seizure operations which includes the penalty imposed on illegally mined ores and the costs realized from the disposal of confiscated ores and minerals. Of the total value of the seized minerals of Rs 17.65crore, minerals worth Rs 16.68crore have been seized from the Joda-Barbil belt while the balance Rs 96.43lakh from the Koira region.
The seizure operations include 3.63 lakh tons of iron ore, 6879 tons of manganese and 270 tons of bauxite. More than 75 per cent of the minerals have been seized from the Joda-Barbil belt.
An inter-departmental committee headed by the Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Government of Orissa has been constituted for automation and modernization of check gates in the state. Simultaneously, the weigh bridges in locations like Keonjhar and Joda are being rationalized.
With a view to bring in administrative reforms using the Information Technology, an Inter-Organizational Group (IOG) has been formed. A Revenue Intelligence Group (RIG) has been formed under the Chairmanship of Transport Commissioner which is sitting regularly.The Centre has also agreed to strengthen the regional office of the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) located in the state.
A committee headed by the director of mines (group leader) to monitor the verification of records of all the mining leases (ML) or renewal mining leases (RML) has already submitted its report to the government.
It may be noted, Orissa government has already issued guidelines for the movement of minerals by the Railways in a bid to check illegal transportation of ore through this route. The guideline, which has been issued in consultation with the Railways, mainly focuses on authentication of the consignment to restrict the shady traders from sending illegally mined ores to different destinations.
The new guideline broadly has two check points. First, at the time of indenting for rail rakes, the person wanting to send the minerals has to get the signature of the local state mining official on the document authenticating the source of the material. Second, after the material reaches the rail siding, it has been made mandatory for the railway officials to verify the transit pass issued for the consignment before allowing its stocking at the rail siding and subsequent loading on to the rakes.
This two pronged strategy would go a long way in checking illegal mining, stocking and transportation of minerals considering the fact nearly 50 per cent of the minerals raised in the state are transported through the Railways.
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the mining scam, the state government cancelled the mining license of Ram Bahadur Thakur Limited (RBTL) and the administrative enquiry is underway for Arjun Ladha and B C Dev Mines.
Due to the flouting of norms by the miners in the state, the mining operations of as many as 220 mines were suspended in the state in the wake of the multi- crore mining scam. Besides, the Indian Bureau of Mines also suspended the operations of eight more mines last month.
IBM has served notices to five mines in the Joda-Barbil belt and three mines in the Koira region to suspend operations. The mining operations of these mines were suspended for the failure of the miners to comply with the provisions of the 'Mining Plan' of IBM.
For more details, visit us at Odisha mining scam
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