The State Government has formed five committees which will conduct physical verification of the mines as per the direction of Justice M B Shah Commission of Inquiry.
Director of Mines Deepak Mohanty said three panels will take up the verification exercise in Keonjhar, while the rest will be deployed in Sundargarh.
Led by a scientist of Odisha Space Application Centre (ORSAC), each panel will comprise two members each from Steel and Mines, Revenue and Forest and Environment departments.
A methodology for the verification has also been drafted which will be placed before the professors of National Institute of Technology before being notified. Another set of panels has been formed at the district-levels with the Collector as the chairperson.
The committees will conduct resurvey of the boundaries of the mines by assessing the difference between the original lease deed and the area in possession. It will also identify encroachments and demarcate broken-up areas of forest and non-forest land, Mohanty said.
For overall supervision, a State-level panel will be formed in which the Additional Secretary, Forest and Environment, will be the representative of the commission, he said. Both IBM and MoEF will also nominate their members.