Over 60 per cent Orissa mines are illegal

The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has found that more than 60 per cent of the mines in Orissa, 215 out of 341, that are operational are illegal.

They have been operating for years without statutory central government clearances and some of them have not even submitted a statutory mining plan to the authorities.

Fifteen of these mines have been operating without clearances for more than 20 years while 17 operators have been operating for 15-20 years.

Another 38 mines have been in illegal existence for 10-15 years, while 65 mines have been in operation for 5-10 years. The other ''illegal'' mines numbering 80 have operated for one-five years without proper clearances.

But what is most shocking is the fact that the state government and officials have all along been aware of the existence of illegal mines and have been winking at the flagrant state-wide violation of laws, thanks to a loophole in the Mines and Minerals (development and regulation) Act 1957.

Under the Act if a mine operator applies for renewal of a lease within prescribed time, Rule 24A(6) of the Minerals Concession Rules 1960 - introduced in 1994 stipulates that the lease is automatically 'deemed' to have been extended till the state government actually takes up the application.