The government today extended the term of Justice M B Shah Commission, which is probing the issues of illegal mining of iron and manganese ore, by another year. “The Cabinet today approved mines ministry's proposal to give a year's extension to justice M B Shah Inquiry Commission,” an official source told PTI.
One-man Justice Shah Commission needed more time to visit 6-7 states including Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh to complete the inquiry, as per sources.
A senior mines ministry official had said yesterday that the ministry had already proposed extension of his term by one year as he (Justice M B Shah) needed to visit mines in some states. The commission, constituted in November 2010 to probe the issues of illegal mining, was to submit its final report by May 18 — 18 months from its appointment.
So far, the commission has submitted two interim reports. Of this, one was submitted last year on the iron ore mining across the country and the other report was given in March this year on illegal mining in Goa. The first report had recommended ban on iron ore exports. The second report is also believed to have recommended the same, though from Goa only.
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