Bhubaneswar: Rampant illegal mining, widespread encroachment of govt and forest land, large-scale irregularities in mineral quality certification and recurring instances of soil theft across the state have caused significant revenue loss and environmental damage, an assembly committee has found. Flagging excess mineral extraction from forest areas in Balangir and Subarnapur districts, the House panel, headed by BJP MLA Sudhir Ranjan Pattjoshi, has recommended a comprehensive action plan to tighten monitoring, take stringent action against offenders and furnish detailed data on mineral extraction and dispatch.“Illegal mining and encroachment of government and forest land are prevalent in several districts like Sundargarh, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur, causing revenue loss and environmental degradation. The department should prepare an action plan to strengthen its monitoring mechanisms to find out the illegal mining activities and stringent action against the offenders,” the committee recommended.Similarly on soil theft being reported from different parts of the state regularly, the committee recommended to submit a detailed report on action taken against defaulters and how much soil was stolen from different parts.The House panel also recommended submitting a detailed report on the operational status of Khandadhar mines from October 2023 to till date. The panel also recommended a separate detailed report on materials raised and dispatched from the mines and its working days.The committee further observed, “TISCO and SAIL handed over two mines at Biramitrapur 25 years ago, but these mines neither closed nor were handed over to other parties. As a result many incidents and accidents are happening in these mines. The government is bearing losses on a large scale.”The panel is now waiting for a report on the matter in its next meeting.While seeking a detailed report on the mines, which are not fulfilling the yearly target and action taken against them, the committee recommended taking steps to make the non-operational mines at Kalahandi operational, in an effort to generate employment and check human trafficking.The committee expressed concerns on the auction process of Balighats and noticed defaulter leases allowed to take part in the auction process and are given the Balighats. It recommended the Balighats, where lifting is completed as per lease agreement, should be given extension, if there is source available or else these should be cancelled.Among other major recommendations, the panel stated, “The government should be serious on roads through which mineral-loaded trucks are plying and they should be constructed in a way that they are able to bear the load for smooth operation.”
