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Jena accuses Odisha CM of mega mining scam
Union Minister alleges collusion between Patnaik & mining operators
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 5
Estimating that illegal mining in Odisha is larger than that of Karnataka and Goa put together, Congress leaders from the state, including Union Minister Srikant Jena, today demanded resignation of the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and immediate cancellation of licences by firms resorting to illegal mining.

‘Meticulously planned loot’ Jena said conservative estimates put the illegal mining to be worth nearly Rs 4 lakh crore. The Union Minister charged that the “loot has been deliberate, calculated and meticulously planned.”

A diversionary tactic: BJD The charge is a diversionary tactic by the Congress that is under attack on coal block allocations: Biju Janata Dal

By imposing a fine of Rs 58,000 crore on 27 mining operators for illegal mining, the Odisha Government has in turn admitted to its own involvement in this mega loot of minerals in the state. — Srikant Jena, Union Minister of State

“By imposing a fine of Rs 58,000 crore on 27 mining operators for illegal mining, the Odisha Government has in turn admitted to its own involvement in this mega loot of minerals in the state”, Srikant Jena, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics and Programme Implementation, charged at a press conference here. Accompanied by former minister Bhakta Charan Das and others, Jena said it was going on for the past 10 years. “Would such a huge loot be possible without the connivance of the chief minister and his associates”, he sought to know, suggesting that conservative estimates put the illegal mining to be worth nearly Rs 4 lakh crore.

“Had genuine sale of iron ore taken place through Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC), the state exchequer would have got non-tax revenue of at least Rs 30,000 crore per annum which would have been used to alleviate the acute poverty, hunger, unemployment under which the entire state is reeling'', Jena wrote to Patnaik.

Besides cancellation of licence to defaulting mines, he said these be taken over either by the OMC or any Central Government agency and action initiated against the mine owners. The minister charged that the loot has been “deliberate, calculated and meticulously planned” alleging collusion between the chief minister and mining operators.

It is not clear whether the attack by Jena is part of a calculated counter-attack by the Congress-led UPA, which is under fire on various fronts. On his part, Jena said the state Congress had raised the issue in the state claiming that Naveen Patnaik has “friends” in Delhi allowing him to escape national attention. He stated that behind his smooth exterior lies “a cruel” mind.

Biju Janata Dal said the charge was a “diversionary” tactic by the Congress that is under attack on coal block allocations.

Party MP Bharatruhari Mahtab, while speaking to The Tribune, wondered by raising the issue in whose interest was Jena, who belongs to the state, was working.