As many as 48 mining lease tenders for minor minerals have been cancelled by the Malkangiri district collector Vishal Singh following the recommendation of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Range).
The development comes after an investigation by the RDC into allegations levelled against the then Collector Y Vijay over irregularities in the entire tender process for the mining lease in the district.
The former collector of the district was accused of taking bribe for awarding the rights to bidder. He was also blamed for taking the tender boxes home and keeping them for around three days.
Senior Congress leader Pradeep Majhi had then demanded suspension of the collector and an impartial probe into the matter.
However, the said collector had then rubbished the allegations and said that the tender was done as per the procedure. He had further clarified that he took the tender boxes home because of security concerns at the office.
Meanwhile, after the cancellation of mining lease tenders, Majhi has demanded Odisha government to carry out a thorough probe into the case and take exemplary action against the erring official(s) who were hand in globe in looting the natural resources of the State.
The scrapping off the tenders proves the fixing of the mining lease tenders. This is just the tip of the iceberg as the many top officers and mining mafia are involved in the case, said Majhi while reacting over the development.
As per reports, new tenders will be floated for the 48 mining lease for minor minerals.