A day after Central Empowered Committee (CEC) informed the Supreme Court about illegal production of iron ore and manganese in Odisha, the state government today said it would go by the direction of the Apex Court even as opposition Congress and BJP today reiterated its demand of a CBI probe into mining activities.
"We will abide by the direction of the Supreme Court. Though the CEC has submitted its support, the Apex Court has not given any direction," Odisha's Steel and Mines minister Prafulla Kumar Mallick told reporters here.
The minister said the state government was ready to take stringent steps against the violators of the law and had initiated action.
Senior Congress leader and ex-OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said that the CEC report has exposed the illegal mining activities in Odisha. "Since many influentials are involved in the illegal activities, the CBI should probe into the matter," Patnaik said.
Senior BJP leader Pratap Sarangi also demanded CBI probe into the multi-crore mining scam. "After M B Shah Commission, the CEC has also found illegalities in the mining here.
