A two- member team of Justice MB Shah Commission probing the mining scam arrived here on Friday before finalisation of the report for verification of demarcation of leasehold mine boundary and examine the accuracy of the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) maps of mines being prepared by the State Government agency Odisha Space Application Centre.
The two members represented by senior forest officer Biswajeet Mishra of Karnataka and senior geologist from Gujarat Geological Survey of India Janardan Prasad after their arrival left for the iron ore rich Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts along with Mining Director Deepak Mohanty to undertake a field visit.
Before leaving, the team would also meet the officials of the Steel and Mines and Forest and Environment departments on the maps and other aspects on Monday next.
The members would also check if land use by the mine lessees is in accordance with the forest diversion plan, procedure followed in grant of surface rights to miners and safety measures undertaken by the miners in the safety zone.
“We will oversee the mining lease boundary survey work in the Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts, besides meeting the State Government officials,” said Conservator of Forests Mishra.
The team would visit five mines in Koida and Joda mining circle. The probe panel which earlier visited the State four times to investigate cases of illegal mining during last two years is scheduled to submit its report to the Centre by July 16 deadline.
“We would try to complete the probe before the July 16 deadline,” said Mishra. The Justice MB Shah panel, appointed by the Central Government in November 2010, has been investigating allegations of illegal mining in several mineral-rich States.
The commission during their last visit had directed fresh verification of 44 mine leases on the request of the miners for which the fresh mapping survey was being carried out. So far data collection and physical verification has been done in case of 19 leases.
Justice Shah had allowed physical verification of mines for which the minors agreed to bear the cost at the rate of Rs 2 lakh per square kilometer of the mining area, sources said.