Joda: With uncertainty looming over recovery of a whopping amount of penalty from mine owners in Keonjhar district due to irregularities by December 31, the fear of closure of the mines has started haunting people.
Over 3 lakh people are likely to lose their jobs across the state if the mines get closed. The Supreme Court is firm on its stand that if the mine owners fail to pay the fine by December 31, their mining leases will be cancelled.
Since 2009, the district has been in focus for mining irregularities and violation of norms by miners. The state government had earlier served notices to 152 lease holders for irregularities. Of them, 67 mine owners belong to Joda mining circle. They will have to pay Rs 11,000 crores as penalty.
According to a report, only four to five companies have paid the fine while the remaining firms have been desperately trying to arrange funds. Only Rs 400 crore has been recovered from the mine owners.
If they fail to pay the penalty by the deadline, their mines will be closed after December 31. In this case, the livelihood of over three lakh people in Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh districts will be affected. About 1,500 workers in Serajuddin; 3,000 in Rungta mines; 500 each in Essel, Sharada, DR Patnaik and KN Ram mine (Bolani); 1,000 in Indrani Patnaik mine; 1,500 in KJS Ahluwalia; 2,000 in Mesco mine; and about 1,000 workers SAIL mine in Bolani will lose their jobs if these mines are closed.
“If these mines are closed, the livelihood of over 30,000 mine workers in Joda circle, over 20,000 truck owners, over 50,000 labourers engaged in trucks and another one lakh in allied sectors will be affected,” said labour union leader Maheswar Rout. PNN
