Following the submission of the long and much-awaited final report of the Justice MB Shah Commission to the Central Government, ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders here appear to be a worried lot in view of indications that the report has pinpointed instances of corruption in mining operations in Odisha.
The report is likely to trigger a political storm in the State. The Commission of Inquiry, which probed illegal mining of iron ore and manganese in the State, submitted the first part of its report running into 1,500 pages.According to reliable sources, the commission has found several instances of illegal mining in Odisha, but details are still awaited as the report has been kept under tight wraps.
It is learnt that massive illegal mining in the BK Mohanty mines at Uliburu in Keonjhar districts has prominently figured in the Shah panel report.When asked, Minister of Steel and Mines Rajani Kant Singh told reporters that the State Government was yet to come across the Shah panel’s report.
Justice Shah along with his team members had visited the State several times, besides holding some hearing sessions in Ahmedabad. The Government of India had set up the commission on November 22, 2010.