New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday sought the Centre’s reply on whether there could be any cap on mining in Odisha against the backdrop that there are limited iron ore reserves in the state.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Odisha government, contended before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud that the government has recovered a substantial amount in fines from the defaulting mining firms, however, Rs 2,622 crore was yet to be collected.
The bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, directed the Odisha government to make efforts to recover compensation of Rs 2,622 crore, excluding interests, from the defaulters held guilty of violating the mining norms. Dwivedi said about Rs 2,215 crore compensation was to be recovered from five lessee mining firms alone.
The Odisha government said it had an estimated iron ore reserve of 9,220 million tonnes, and further contended that the reserves may increase depending on research being conducted. The bench then asked the Centre to examine the issue and file its response within eight weeks on whether a cap can be put on iron ore mining in the state.
During the hearing, advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing NGO ‘Common Cause’, which in 2014 had filed a PIL on illegal mining, contended that the defaulting firms or their promoters should be prevented from taking part in any future auctioning process. Bhushan pressed that the dues may be recovered by attaching their properties.
Dwivedi submitted before the court that the government will take steps to ensure expeditious recovery of the outstanding dues. The state government had informed the court that defaulting firms' lease agreements have already expired and no fresh leases have been granted. The bench told the state government that the recovery may be done by attaching the properties of the defaulting firms.
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