A day after the Union minister Srikant Jena accused Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik of colluding in a mining scam that supposedly caused a loss of `4 lakh crores to the state exchequer, the state government on Tuesday said it was not showing any leniency to the mines operators who had raised minerals in excess of the permitted limits.
The government clarified that in addition to the earlier 61 mines that had been asked to pay `47,805 crores as fine, `20,095 crores penalty was imposed on 42 more mines a couple of days back for excess mining in Orissa. With this, the total number of mines operators facing the penalty action has gone up to 103.
Although the Orissa government admits excess raising of the minerals, especially iron ore, it blames the Indian Bureau of Mines for its failure to detect the irregularities.
“The Orissa government has imposed penalty on major mining companies. So far, 103 mines have been asked to pay fine totalling Rs 67,900 crores for indulging in excess production of ore,” steel and mines minister Rajanikant Singh told mediapersons.
While 61 mines had earlier been asked to pay Rs 47,805 crores as fine, Rs 20,095 crores penalty was imposed on 42 mines a couple of days back for excess mining, he said.