Team News Riveting
Malkangiri, August 24
The Odisha Government had cancelled 48 mining leases allotted for minor minerals exploration in the Malkangiri district.
Following the recommendation of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Range). Malkangiri District Collector Vishal Singh cancelled the lease allotted for the 48 mines. The move came following the reports of irregularities in the tendering process and the lease allotment. The Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) had conducted the probe.
The then Collector of Malkangiri, Y Vijay had come under the scanner. While he was being accused of taking bribes for awarding the leases to bidders, he was charged with reportedly taking the tender boxes home and keeping them for three days.
Senior Congress leader Pradeep Majhi had raised the issue and demanded suspension of the collector and an impartial probe into the matter.
However, Y Vijay had refuted the allegations and said that the tender was done as per the procedure. He clarified that the tender boxes were taken to his residence for security reasons.
Majhi had now demanded the Odisha government to conduct a thorough probe into the incident and take exemplary action against the officials involved “in looting the natural resources of the State.” Since the Government had cancelled the tenders, it endorsed the serious irregularities in the process, he added
The state government would float new tenders for the 48 minor minerals mines.
