"During 2000-01 to 2010-11, a total quantity of 2,130.988 lakh MT of iron and 24.129 lakh MT of manganese have been produced without environmental clearance/ beyond environmental clearance in the mining leases in Odisha," said the CEC report, submitted to the apex court.
The CEC report is the second major indictment of the Naveen Patnaik dispensation, which is in office since March 2000, in the multi-thousand crore mining scam in the state. In February 2014, the Justice M B Shah Commission had blamed the state government for the mega fraud and recommended a CBI inquiry. The CEC, however, is silent on the CBI probe.
In its 178-page report, the six-member panel, headed by P V Jayakrishanan, noted that mining operations for iron and manganese in Odisha were undertaken practically by all lessees, including PSUs, without environmental clearance and/or in excess of environmental clearances. "The 14 lessees who have produced above 50 lakh MT of iron and/ or manganese without/ in excess of environmental clearances include OMC Ltd, a government of Odisha undertaking, BPME Ltd, a government of India undertaking, and companies belonging to some of the well-known corporate groups such as Tata Group and Aditya Birla Group," it said, adding, "The 14 lessees account for 72.83 per cent and 57.86 per cent respectively of such production of iron ore and manganese."
According to the report, the total notional value of minerals produced without/ in excess of environmental clearance, at the weighted average price of minerals as published by the Indian Bureau of Mines, adds up to Rs 17,091.24 crore for iron and Rs 484.92 crore for manganese. It said 30 per cent of the notional value of the iron and manganese produced by each of the errant lessees may be recovered from them within three months with the explicit understanding that the concerned lessee as well as the officers will continue to be liable for legal action.
Stating that such illegal mining was done with the consent of state authorities, the report said, "The senior officers of the state government from the chief secretary downwards cannot escape responsibility for such wholesale and brazen violation of the Acts, rules and guidelines and the directions of this court and also points towards lax governance." It added: "It is most disturbing to note that the entire production without/ in excess of the statutory approvals has been transported under the transit permits issued by officers of the state government concerned and that too after payment of royalty at the applicable rates."
The report added, "Odisha, rather belatedly, from 2011-12 has taken steps so that no mining lease operates without all statutory approvals and production in each case has been restricted to that prescribed in the statutory approvals."
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