During the Shah Commission’s probe into illegal mining in Odisha, the State Government suddenly woke up to slap notices of fine of Rs60,000cr on different miners in Joda and Koira circles.
The fine was imposed for realisation of cost price along with penalty towards the excess quantity of ore raised by lessees beyond he approved mining plan during the last 20 years.But since the mineral was raised from the leasehold area and shifted out with legal transit permits issued by the Mines Department, the miners had paid all royalty and taxes for the material.
Although this mineral production was carried out with the knowledge of the State and Central Governments for years, none restricted the excess production in mines. Hence, the miners have moved legal court claiming that the fine notices were unjustified and illegal since there was no evidence of theft and any violation of laws can be dealt with under the provisions of laws.
Even the Government-run Odisha Mining Corporation and SAIl and OMDC were charged with hefty fines for excess mining for which these corporations have also moved court against the Government’s decision. The revision authority has already issued a stay on the imposition of such fines while the Central Government has termed the State’s move as improper and illegal.
In this situation, the State Government is keeping a watch on the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) team’s visit and awaits its view on collection of fines. But will the CEC form a view to recommend, reject or reduce such penalty imposed on minersIJ The mining community waits with crossed fingers until the final report of the CEC is tabled before the Supreme Court.