Even as a Vigilance team is currently probing into the alleged `1,800-crore illegal mining in the Uliburu iron mines at Joda in Keonjhar district by the BK Mohanty Mines, earlier investigations had revealed that BK Mohanty had been granted a lease for manganese, iron ore and limestone at Uliburu over an area of 56.94 hectares on December 13, 1983 and the lease period had expired on December 13, 2003.
The lessee had not filed any renewal mining lease (RMl) application prior to one year of the expiry of lease as required under Rule 24 of the MC Rules 1960 but submitted its RMl on December 7, 2003, i.e., only a week before the expiry of the lease for which the RMl stands invalid according to mines Act.
But the Mines Department allowed operation of this mine on deemed extension plea for unknown reasons. In 2003, the mining operation continued outside the mine lease area by shifting the lease boundary pillars into the reserve forest. Still more surprising is how the Mining Plan for the lease was approved by the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) after field verification by officials of the IBM and Forest, Mines and Revenue Departments in 2008 and how the line departments were unaware of the illegal mining even after the field survey!
Were the mining inspectors, forest officials and IBM and DGMS officials, who made regular inspections of this mine, really unaware of the illegal affair for which the illegal mining took place since yearsIJ The report of the joint verification done by mines, forest and revenue officials between 2009 and 2010 says that the boundary pillars of the mine lease are intact and there was no encroachment by the lessee.
During the present Vigilance probe, many documents and reports in the files of the BK Mohanty Uliburu mines are alleged to be missing and tampered. Even the file of the mining lease available at the Directorate of Mines has also reportedly been tampered to weaken the evidence.
The silence of the Government to initiate action against the lessee after a joint mine inspection committee reported about the illegal mining at Uliburu in November 2011 has also raised suspicion. When the facts and evidence of illegal mining at Ulliburu are already available with the Government, it is unclear why action against the culprits is now being delayed by initiating a Vigilance probe.