BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Wednesday said that the fines collected from mining lease holders for illegal mining will be exclusively utilised for the development of mineral bearing districts.
As per the Supreme Court order, the compensation amount recovered from defaulting mining companies will go to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and the same will be used for the benefit of the people of affected districts, Minister of State for Steel and Mines Prafulla Mallick told reporters.
The penalty so far collected has been deposited in the accounts of the Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBARDC). The fund collected will be spent in eight mineral-bearing districts in Odisha comprising 1,000 villages, he added.
The State Government had created an SPV in 2014 pursuant to another order of the apex court.
Since the Supreme Court is monitoring the case of illegal mining, the State Government will act as per the direction of the apex court, the Minister said. Meanwhile, 72 out of 131 defaulting mining lease holders have deposited `8,223 crore with the State Government towards penalty for excess mining. The State has already slapped closure notice on seven mining lessees for failing to pay the penalty imposed on them.