Justice M.B. Shah Commission’s report on illegal mining in Odisha is yet to be made public. However sources close to this matter believe that things will not be as severe as they were in Karnataka and Goa

The Odisha government has submitted its response on the M.B.Shah Commission’s report to the union government. However, this response is for the first phase of the report submitted in last July. According to sources, the state government has informed the central government about the action taken on the basis of the 1^st phase report of the probe panel.

The state government has sent the action taken report on the issues like excess lifting of minerals, mining without forest and environmental clearance, mining beyond the boundary, discrepancies in Deemed renewal clause etc. The center would verify the response of the state and submit in the union cabinet before submitting the report in the parliament.

The union mines ministry has constituted the Shah panel headed by Justice M.B.Shah on November 2010 for carrying out investigation into the multi million-dollar illegal mining cases in several mineral-bearing states including Odisha. Initially the tenure of the commission was to expire on July 2012, but later it had been extended till 16^th July 2013. The commission has visited Odisha several times for investigation on the illegal mining cases.