The Supreme Court is likely to approve the reopening of four more iron ore mines in Odisha shut by its August 2 order last year in a case of rampant illegal mining.
The apex court in its latest hearing on August 29, heard out pleas from four iron ore leaseholders- Korps Resources, Gitarani Mohanty, B C Dagra and Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). All the lessees argued that they be allowed to resume operations of their mines since they have paid off the compensation along with the interest as mandated by the court.
The top court has directed the Odisha government to furnish the status report of the four inoperative mines. The subsequent hearing on the matter is scheduled on September 24.
Previously, the Supreme Court had condoned delayed payments by other miners including Aditya Birla Group owned Essel Mining & Industries Ltd, OMC and Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha Ltd (IDCOL). They restarted operations after duly paying the arrears with interest.
The mine leaseholders were mandated to fork out compensation in lieu of stark violation of environment clearance limits as per an order by the Supreme Court delivered in August last year in response to a petition filed by the NGO Common Cause.
Complying with the apex court’s judgement, the Odisha government had slapped penalty notices on 131 miners worth Rs 17576.17 crore for overproduction of iron and manganese ore. The compensation figure was as extrapolated by the Supreme Court-appointed central empowered committee (CEC). The deadline for payments was December 31, 2017 but it was extended after the top court condoned the delay for some miners who required paying off their respective dues with 12 per cent interest.
The state mines department has been able to exact Rs 13,000 crore from the errant lessees. Still, 52 miners are saddled with penalty backlog and are confronting certificate cases filed against them by the district authorities in Sundargarh and Keonjhar, the two most prolific iron ore production sectors in the state. The state government is even contemplating coercive action against the miners. Extreme steps could mean seizure of assets owned by the leaseholders and freezing bank accounts.
Proceeds of the penalties collected from the miners will accrue to the Odisha Mineral Bearing Area Development Corporation (OMBADC). In a separate hearing on September 6, the apex court will take stock of the projects where work has been initiated for people living in the periphery of mines.
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