Senior Congress leader and Union Minister Srikant Jena on Friday urged the CBI to probe the mega mining scam in the State.
“The polity of the State has not remained unaffected with this evil, which has been nurtured by the present State Government over last many years. In view of the pernicious evil effects of illegal mining as reported by the Shah Commission, it is requested that a suo moto enquiry should be instituted by the CBI into this scam so that the truth comes out in a transparent manner,” Jena said in a letter to CBI Director Ranjit Sinha.
He said there has been an increasing presence of mafia elements in the mining sector of Odisha under the patronage of the State Government for over 10 years, a fact that has been corroborated by the Shah Commission in its report.
Jena said the enormous multi-State illegal mining of iron ore and manganese ore worth over Rs 59,000 is not only national loot, but also has deleterious effects on the national economy and society which has to be stopped immediately and effectively. There is, however, skepticism over Jena’s letter since the CBI can hardly initiate an inquiry into a State matter on its own, a fact that could not been unknown to the Union Minister.