“Ample Irregularities in Odisha Manganese Mining”: Aparajita Sarangi

Bhubaneswar: Lok Sabha Member Aparajita Sarangi alleged massive Manganese mining irregularities in  Odisha.

Citing the Ministry of Mines’ letter, MP Aparajita Sarangi, alleged that there is a nexus between Odisha Government and mine traders.

“Thousands of crores of rupees are being lost from the state exchequer. The state government is putting pressure on the mine owners to appoint specific contractors and specific transport companies. As a result, special arbitrary rules are being introduced for transportation of products at low cost,” Aparajita Sarangi said.

“The Centre has written to Odisha Government thrice on this alleged irregularities in Manganese mining management. However, the state government is yet to bring an SOP for mines. Last time, the state government issued a demand notice after the iron ore mining scam came to the fore. The attempts were made to loot thousands of crores of money through unethical means. The state government itself has looted money by showing low-quality iron ore. Similarly, chromite and manganese are also being sold in an unethical way,” she added.

During a press meeting today, the MP stated that the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) decides the average sale price for Manganese mines. Manganese ore containing less than 25 percent manganese metal is called low grade. If kept less than 25 percent, the price will be Rs 2896 per tonne. But, the high-grade quality is being converted into low quality by showing the average sale price for which a huge loss is being incurred to the state exchequer.