Odisha: Shah heard cases of 27 mines on day 1

Bishnupad Rout joined as the new DDM of Joda circle

Bhubaneswar: The Justice M.B. Shah Commission heard the cases of 27 mines instead of 40 mines on the first day of hearing on Tuesday at Ahmadabad.

This include the mines like Rungta Mines, MGM group, etc. The inquiry commission hearing was done mostly on the issues like current status of the mining lease, Forest and Environment Clearances, mining outside the lease area, mineral production during the period 2005 to 2013, mineral export outside the state, Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) Map etc. On the other hand the commission is expected to start hearing the cases on violation of Rule 37 of the MCR 1960 today for as many as 14 mines including Indrani Patnaik, RP Sao, KJS Ahluwalia.

“They (the lessees) have presented their views on a number of matters. With regard to Rule-37, they have not specifically stated anything. However, they want to point out something. We will hear them”, said M.B. Shah, Chairman of the Commission.

Meanwhile, State Director of Mines, Deepak Mohanty has said that the state government has submitted its inquiry report to the Commission on Rule 37 violation. On the other hand, the state government has posted Bishnupad Rout as the Joda Deputy Director of Mines (DDM) after the suspension of former DDM Ballav Charan Nayak.