Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has not taken effective steps to recover Rs 3,966.34 crore as fine from leaseholders for illegal mining operations, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report.
This despite the fact that seven years have passed since the lapse of the Supreme Court’s deadline for depositing the penalty money with a special purpose vehicle of Odisha government as punishment for illegally extracting iron and manganese ore mining without forest clearance (FC) or environmental clearance (EC).
The amount due was to be deposited with Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC) by December 31, 2017. Accordingly, the SC-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) in its report dated January 17, 2018 recommended collection of compensation, amounting to Rs 19,174.38 crore, from 131 mining lease holders.
The CAG found that 82 out of 131 mining lease holders had paid Rs 8,289.87 crore, against the total demand of Rs 19,174.38 crore, by December 2017.
Following further directions of the apex court to take coercive action to recover the unpaid dues from the defaulting mining lease holders, the Director of Steel and Mines, Odisha, instructed district collectors of Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj in February 2018 to initiate certificate cases under the Odisha Public Demand Recovery (OPDR) Act, 1962, which led to recovery of Rs 7,371.12 crore, including interest for delayed payments, by January 2023.
The report, tabled before the assembly on Wednesday, pointed out that the lack of prompt action has resulted in a significant shortfall in recovery and raises concerns over the government’s efficiency in enforcing SC directives. “The department had not taken any effective step like attachment of the whole or any part of the immovable properties belonging to the certificate-debtors, to recover the balance amount of Rs 3,966.34 crore (with interest),” it said.
The report also highlighted significant lapses in the management of OMBADC funds between 2017 and 2022. The audit revealed serious shortcomings, including failure to prepare annual budgets up to FY 2019-20 and inadequate monitoring of unspent funds with project implementation agencies (PIAs). “Though the project management unit (PMU) submitted a prospective plan for ten years on June 2, 2020, the plan had not been approved by OMBADC till April 2023, for implementation of various projects in mining affected districts. In the absence of an approved prospective plan, annual implementation plans were also not prepared and submitted by the PMU for approval of the OMBADC Board.”
It said that only 34.90% (Rs 229.98 crore) of the approved budget was allocated to mining blocks across four districts, despite these areas facing direct health impacts from mining activities. “One of the major components, which was essential for the health of people living in the mining areas, silicosis screening at the mining sites, was yet to be started, in any of the four mining affected districts, for want of training and X-ray machines. The slow procurement of medical equipment had a bearing on the healthcare of the targeted population of the mining affected areas, who are prone to pulmonary diseases, and vector-borne diseases,” the report said, adding that the corporation had failed to establish either a state-level monitoring unit or district-level monitoring sub-committee.
It further said that the skill development initiative has largely missed its target, with over 95% of the enrolled candidates not belonging to the identified mineral-bearing villages.
The CAG has recommended immediate steps to recover the outstanding amount and ensure proper utilisation of funds for the welfare of mining-affected communities.
