CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Monday adjourned to January 8 hearing on a PIL alleging large-scale underproduction in several iron ore mines which was causing substantial financial losses to the state exchequer and aggravating economic distress in mining-dependent districts.
The adjournment came after the state government sought time to verify the allegations in the petition. The PIL was filed by Citizen’s Action Forum, a Bhubaneswar-based NGO.
Earlier, the court had taken cognisance of the matter and directed the state government to clarify its position on the allegations. But on Monday, the government submitted that a detailed inquiry was required to verify the claims, particularly in relation to the Balda and Jururi iron ore blocks. Additional government advocate Debashis Tripathy appeared on behalf of the state.
A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice MS Raman then deferred hearing to January 8 and directed the government to file by then an affidavit.
The petition said several iron ore blocks in Odisha have failed to achieve their approved production levels despite having valid mining plans and environmental clearances, resulting in significant revenue losses.
The Balda iron ore block, which has an approved capacity of 15 million tonne per annum (MTPA), produced over 10 MTPA before 2020-21 but has operated at only about six per cent of its capacity over the past four years, the petition stated.
It claimed that optimal production of 40-56 million tonnes during this period could have generated an additional `3,000-`4,000 crore through royalties, District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) contributions, besides supporting livelihoods for nearly 5,000 people.
The Jururi iron ore block has also been cited as an example, with production reported to be less than five per cent of its approved capacity in its first year of operation (2020-21), followed by continued low output in subsequent years. The petition claims such prolonged underproduction has adversely affected public revenue, local employment and allied sectors such as transport, logistics and mineral-based industries.
The PIL further stated that Odisha, which holds about 28 per cent of India’s iron ore reserves, has 63 operational iron ore leases with a combined environmental clearance capacity of 246 MTPA. However, actual production during 2024-25 stood at 159 MTPA, amounting to around 64 per cent capacity utilisation and only 1.6 per cent of the state’s total recorded geological resources.