Orissa exported 14.2 million tonnes of iron ore, 0.48 million tonnes of chromite and 8,518 tonnes of mineral sand in 2009-10.
The state also despatched 4.87 million tonnes of iron ore, 71.2 million tonnes of coal, 5.97 million tonnes of bauxite, 0.61 million tonnes of chromite, 0.46 million tonnes of manganese, 1.5 million tonnes of dolomite and 0.13 million tonnes of quartz to other states within the country.
This was informed by the state steel and mines minister Raghunath Mohanty in the state legislative assembly.
As many as 596 mining leases of different minerals like iron ore, chromite and manganese have been granted in the state. Mining leases have been allotted for reserves of 2805.94 million tonnes of iron ore, 587.81 million tonnes of bauxite and 110.9 million tonnes of chromite.
Responding to a query on the steps taken by the state government in the aftermath of the illegal mining scam, Mohanty said, “183 people involved in the illegal mining operations since 2007 have been arrested by the state government. As many as 189 mines located in Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Sundergarh districts have been suspended as a result of which 1529 labourers have lost their jobs.”
Earlier, the state government had announced that around four lakh tonnes of illegally mined minerals including iron ore, manganese and bauxite were seized from the Joda-Barbil and Koira regions of Keonjhar district from April 2009 to May 2010.
In the aftermath of the multi million crore mining scam, which had caught the state government in a tight spot, 384 illegal activities were detected in the said period which includes 292 cases in the Joda-Barbil belt and 92 cases in the Koira region.
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The value of the seized minerals has been estimated at Rs 17.65 crore. As many as 222 vehicles engaged in transportation of illegal ore have been seized.
The state government has realized Rs 6.91 crore from the seizure operations which includes the penalty and the costs realized from the disposal of confiscated ores and minerals.
Of the total value of the seized minerals of Rs 17.65 crore, minerals worth Rs 16.68 crore have been seized from the Joda-Barbil belt while the balance Rs 96.43 lakh from the Koira region.
The seized material includes 3.63 lakh tonnes of iron ore, 6879 tonnes of manganese and 270 tonnes of bauxite. More than 75 per cent of the minerals have been seized from the Joda-Barbil belt.
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the mining scam, the state government has cancelled the mining license of Ram Bahadur Thakur Limited while the administrative enquiry is underway for Arjun Ladha and B C Dev Mines.
These three mining firms were allegedly carrying out illegal mining operations on reserved forest land without the requisite clearance of the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).