Former Union Minister Braja Kishore Tripathy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a CBI probe into the mega mining scam of Odisha. In a memorandum to the Prime Minister, he alleged that there was reckless exploitation of mineral resources in violation of all laws, including norms pertaining to forest and environment due to an unholy nexus among politicians, bureaucrats and mining merchants. Tripathy also cited the Shah Commission findings and the CEC recommendations to underscore his point.
He said mining explorations continued unabated in clear violation of the MMDR Act, 1957. He also mentioned about massive illegal mining in forest areas, lack of renewal of mining lease and wrong application of deemed extension clause etc.
“I would therefore request your honour to order for a full fledged inquiry into the mining scam in Odisha by the CBI and ED and recover the looted amount to the extent of more than `5 lakh crores,” Tripathy said.