The Hindu : Other States / Orissa News : Check illegal mining

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Monday, Jan 05, 2009
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Check illegal mining

State government has recently announced that mines which have not yet been excavated will be cancelled and subsequently opened for leasing. It assessed that royalty that is coming to State exchequer will increase up to Rs. 1250 crores.

However, nowhere the worth of minerals under possession of government undertakings was mentioned.

Moreover, the number of unutilized mines was not made public.

There is no word about plan of action the State government to curb the illegal mining.

It has been reported a few weeks ago that some government organisations are not collecting receipt books for years now.

The books are essential to collect the cess on these minerals. Hence there is a huge loss to state exchequer due to this.

There is no doubt that though there is upper limit on mining of minerals, owners are drawing more than what is allotted to them.

These illegal practices are very common in the mineral rich districts.

And apprehensions came true when around 35 trucks were seized near Khurda with manganese ore a month ago.

So I hope the State government will look into all these aspects before chalking out any action plan to curb illegal mining.

Bijay Mishra

Bhubaneswar

Woes of Prashanti Express passengers

I travelled from Bhubaneswar to Bangalore City by Prasanthi Express on December 24. On the second day there was no water in the train. Upon inquiry it was revealed that the same inconvenience is faced by passengers of Prashanti everyday as after Vijayawada no refilling of water is done till the end of the journey.

Passengers are forced to purchase bottled mineral water to attend to their toilet needs. It is sad that a train that carries pilgrims to Prasanthi Nilayam was not even provided with basic facilities. On my return journey by the same train on December 27 I found that reading lights did not work and neither did many of the plug points. The quality of the food served is yet another area that needs immediate attention. What is served would cost at the most Rs. 15 outside whereas we are forced to pay Rs. 32 for badly cooked meal that would not be enough even for breakfast. We have become accustomed to fleecing by way of notorious Tatkal scheme, at least we can expect the railway authorities to ensure that passengers travel comfortably and are able to avail the much advertised facilities.

Jagannath Chatterjee

Bhubaneswar

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