The State Government on Friday directed the Collectors of four coal bearing districts to take action to curb illegal mining by taking a cue from Shah Commission report on illegal mining of iron ore and manganese in Goa.
The Steel and Mines Department in separate letters to the Collectors of Angul, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Sundergarh, said the administration should keep vigil on coal mining.
“Though the (Justice Shah) report is specific to other minerals, observations and recommendations made by the Commission and formation of task force with regular reports system would be relevant and applicable to the coal sector also,” AK Bhalla, Joint Secretary in Ministry of Coal had said in a letter to Chief Secretary BK Patnaik.
Accepting the Ministry’s letter, the State Government told the Director and Deputy Directors of mines to keep a track on coal mining.