Odisha: FIR Lodged Against 5 Leaseholders For ‘Excess Mining’ From Quarries Of Puri Jagannath Temple

Bhubaneswar: Five leaseholders of stone quarries of Puri Shree Jagannath Temple have been booked for allegedly extracting minor minerals in an illegal manner in Odisha’s Khurda district.

According to sources, the district administration has lodged FIR against five leaseholders for allegedly indulging in illegal mining and extracting excess minerals from the stone quarries belonging to the 12th century shrine of Puri.

FIR was lodged at the Khurda Sadar police station as the leaseholders failed to respond to the notice issued by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in August this year. They also failed to pay the penalty imposed on them for excess mining.

This apart, the five leaseholders have been barred from undertaking mining operations in the leased area, sources said.

Notably, the SJTA of Puri had issued show-cause notice to 19 leaseholders of stone quarries of the 12th century shrine in Khurda district following allegation of excess mining. Fourteen of the leaseholders have reportedly paid the penalty imposed on them and action has been initiated against the rest five.

The notice had issued by Chief Administrator of SJTA, Arabinda Kumar Padhee under the Odisha Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2016. The move came amid allegation that the leaseholders were extracting minor minerals beyond the lease conditions, sources said.

As per the notice, violators were required to pay royalty, incidental charges and penalty for over-extraction of minor minerals within seven days.

Similarly, they had also been asked to submit a written explanation as to the circumstances under which such operation was carried out.