Odisha to attach properties of mining defaulters

The amount due for recovery as penalty was pegged at Rs 17,576 crore. As of December 31, the government collected Rs 11,621 crore through full and partial payment by roughly 72 lease holders. However, sources in the mines department said that 56 miners have not yet made full payment of their dues.

Odisha’s mines minister Prafulla Mallick Thursday said the government will now attach properties and houses of defaulters to recover the remaining dues.

A high-ranking official in the mines department said the government will be guided by the Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Minerals) Concession Rules, 2016 as well as the Odisha Public Demands Recovery (OPDR) Act (1962) to recover remaining dues. As per Mineral Concession Rules (No. 12 sub rule 10), the state government can give a 60-day notice to the defaulter and proceed to terminate the lease. “We are going to issue those notices next week. Final course of action has already got the assent of the CM”, said the official from the mines department

“Maximum lease holders can pay their dues within 60 days. If they do so, their lease will be safe and they can resume their mining operations”, said Prabodh Mohanty, East Odisha Miners Association Secretary.