The Union Government has extended the tenure of the Justice MB Shah Commission, which is inquiring into the illegal iron ore and manganese mining in some States including Odisha, giving it time until October to submit its final report.
The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has extended the commission’s term for three months, an official source said. On the reports of large-scale illegal mining and failure of the concerned States to effectively curb it, the Centre had set up the one-man commission in November 2010 and the panel was initially supposed to submit its final report within 18 months from the date of first sitting.
The commission had its first sitting on January 17, 2011 and, thus, was required to submit its final report on or before July 16, 2012.
However, the Cabinet in July 2012 decided to give the commission a one-year extension given the voluminous data it had to collect and compile on mining from seven States including Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa and Madhya Pradesh. It was then required to submit its report by July 16, 2013.
The commission has also been empowered to recommend remedial measures to prevent illegal mining, trade and export. The panel, which recommended a total ban on iron ore and manganese exports, has submitted two interim reports. Of this, one was on illegal iron ore mining across the country and the other on illegal mining in Goa.
It has also made a few other recommendations, on which the Union Mines Ministry has already initiated some actions.
The Union also decided to send the actions taken by the Ministry to a Committee of Secretaries to ascertain whether these measures are appropriate or more actions are required to be taken.