The Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) would probe the illegal stacking of minerals near the Renjda railway siding in Koida Mining Circle of Sundargarh district.
Union Steel and Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday directed the IBM to investigate the alleged illegality.
The direction follows the letter from Sundergarh MP and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Monday in which he urged Tomar to order a probe into the illegality and also to find out the legality of transactions of the minerals at the railway siding.
Oram has been alleging that huge quantity of illegal iron ore has been kept hidden under earth near the railway siding. He stated that the locals have detected huge quantity of iron kept hidden in pits covered by soil.
Based on the villagers’ statement, Jual claimed that the illegal iron ore dumped in the range would weigh around 30,000 tonnes worth Rs 100 to 120 crore.
Meanwhile, after a preliminary inspection report by a mining team, Koida Deputy Director of Mines (DDM) in his report had concluded that nothing substantial was found during the investigation.