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CEC to submit report on illegal mining in Odisha

by IBNS 18 Oct 2014, 12:07 am

New Delhi, Oct 18 (IBNS): A report by a Central Empowered Committee (CEC) set up by the Supreme Court found that 187 iron ore and manganese mines in Odisha were guilty of a host of violations, media reports said.

The report will be submitted to the Court on Saturday.

It said there were violations in environment and forest guidelines and the excess mining of ore. The report also estimated a total loss of Rs. 17,000 crores to the government owing to the illegal mining activities.

Earlier, it was claimed by the state government that mining in Odisha was within the law.

The report said that “senior officers of the state government from the Chief Secretary downwards cannot escape responsibility for brazen violations”.