The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Odisha government to file its response on a plea filed by a mining company seeking an extension of time to remove iron ore that has already been extracted in the state.
The company informed a bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde that it has not been able to sell off the already extracted ore as the state government has not given the permission to move the ore yet.
To this, the court asked the counsel appearing for the Odisha government, as to why the government was slow in providing permission.
Earlier, the apex court had earlier given two months' time for mining companies to remove and sell the ore which had already been extracted and pay the dues pending to the mining department.