Illegal mining in Odisha: SC rejects pleas of 3 mining companies

Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court today rejected pleas of three mining companies to restart their operations, which were suspended due to non-payment of fines levied on account of illegal mining.

Hearing the pleas of four mining lessees- Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), Corp Resource, BC Dagra and Gitanjali Mohanty Mines- the apex court today cleared only Corp Resource to resume mining. "Corp Resources has cleared all the dues pertaining to mining plan, EC and interest," Naveen Kumar, advocate appearing for the petitioner said.

“However, the Court has rejected OMC’s plea on grounds that although it has paid its dues related to EC, it has not paid the fine for CT and mining plan,” Kumar said.

The Court has also asked BC Dagra mines and Gitanjali Mohanty Mines to deposit their outstanding dues within three weeks.

This apart, the apex court today informed that in its next hearing scheduled on September 6, it will provide suggestions to Odisha government on how and where to use the compensation amount of nearly Rs 12,900 crore that has been recovered from illegal miners.