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Bhubaneswar, August 8: Even as confusion persists regarding the actual amount of fine to be collected from mining companies for illegal explorations in Orissa, the state government Tuesday accepted the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee’s (CEC) estimation that a sum of `17,575 crore should be recovered from the erring miners for violating environment clearance (EC).
According to sources, the CEC assessed the excess production over the environment clearance for 148 mining leases at 215.51 million tonnes valued at `17,575 crore. Earlier, the state government had issued a demand for production in excess of EC/mining plan/Consent to Operate (CTO) of State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) to 148 mining firms at 298.20 million tonnes valued at `58,965.48 crore.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an official of the state mining department said that though the basis of pricing used by the state government was different from that used by CEC, the state government has eventually decided to accept CEC’s assessment and recover 100 per cent price of the minerals illegally excavated by the mining firms.
In response to a question, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, who chaired a high-level follow-up meeting with the Advocate General and mines department officials at the Secretariat Tuesday evening, said, “Para 156 of the apex court’s judgment clearly states that since the recommendation of CEC in this regard is not totally unreasonable, we accept that the compensation is payable from 2000-01 onwards at 100 per cent price of the minerals as rationalised by the committee.”
Padhi also said that adding the fine for violation of mining plan and Consent to Operate (CTO) to the CEC’s estimation will enable the state government recover an additional revenue of `2000 crore.
