
BHUBANESWAR: IN a major blow to erring mining companies, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that the lease holders will have to pay 100 per cent penalty to the Odisha Government for excess mining.
The amounts determined as due from all the mining lease holders should be deposited by them on or before December 31, 2017, a division bench of the apex court said, delivering a significant judgment in the mega mining scam in the State.
Justice M B Shah Commission, which probed the illegal mining scam across the country, had recommended recovery of more than Rs 59,000 crore as compensatory dues from the miners for excess mining in Odisha, while the CEC calculated it at over Rs 61,000 crore.
Basing on the recommendations by the Justice Shah Commission, the State Government had issued notices to mining companies imposing a penalty of Rs 58,000 crore, which the miners had challenged in the court of law.
“Since the recommendations made by the CEC in this regard is not totally unreasonable, we accept that the compensations should be payable from 2000-01 onwards at 100 per cent of the price of the minerals as rationalised by the CEC,” the court order said.
The empowered committee had recommended recovery of 30 per cent of the notional value of the iron ore and manganese produced by the lessees without/in excess of the environmental clearance.
“If there has been illegal mining, the defaulting lessees must bear the consequences of the illegality and not be benefited by pocketing 70 per cent of the illegally mined ore. It simply does not stand to reason why the State should be compelled to forgo what is its due from the exploitation of the natural resource and on the contrary be a party in filling the coffers of defaulting lessees in an ill gotten manner,” the court obse
rved.
The division bench of the apex court comprising Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta, however, declined to pass any direction for CBI inquiry into the illegal mining scam in Odisha as recommended by Justice MB Shah Commission.
Though the Shah Commission had strongly favoured a CBI probe, the court did not propose to direct an investigation by the CBI as the immediate concern is to learn lessons from the past so that rapacious mining operations are not repeated in any other part of the country.
While it might come as a relief to the Odisha Government, the apex court called for setting up a panel to identify the lapses in Odisha.
“It would be appropriate if an expert committee is set up under the guidance of a retired judge of the Supreme Court to identify the lapses that have occurred over the years enabling rampant illegal or unlawful mining in Odisha and measures to prevent this from happening in other parts of the country,” the order said.Violation of the laws and policy need to be prevented in other parts of the country and rule of law needs to be established, it observed.
The Supreme Court also directed the Centre to have a fresh look at the National Mineral Policy, 2008 which is almost a decade old, particularly with regard to conservation and mineral development. The exercise should be completed by December, 31, 2017, the two-judge bench said.
In April 2014, NGO Common Cause had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking action against leases indicted by the Shah Commission on illegal mining.
Meanwhile, Director of Mines of Odisha Deepak Mohanty said the State Government will go for a fresh reconciliation for arriving at the exact value of compensation to be recovered from the miners. The Eastern Zone Mining Association, a body of mining companies, said it is examining the next course of action in view of the huge compensation to be paid as ordered by the apex court.