Shah Panel arrives for probe

BHUBANESWAR: The eight-member Justice M B Shah Commission to probe illegal mining activities in Odisha arrived here on Wednesday.  The commission was appointed by the  Ministry of Mines to compile a comprehensive report on illegal mining. Prior to Odisha, the commission was in Goa to inquire into illegal iron ore mining there. The report of the commission will be tabled in Parliament. On arrival, the commission members headed straight to the Raj Bhavan. The commission will leave for Keonjhar and have discussions with Collectors of Keonjhar and Sundargarh, divisional forest officers (DFOs), mining officers and other officials of the two districts. Then they will make field visits to Joda, Barbil in Keonjhar district and Koida in Sundargarh district, on December 9 and 10. The Commission will conduct a public hearing at Keonjhar on December 11. The following day, the Commission will attend a high-level meeting here with the Chief Secretary and top officials of the State Government in Bhubaneswar. Later, the Commission will meet the NGOs, stakeholders and others in the afternoon on Monday.Steel and Mines Minister Raghunath Mohanty, however, said that there was nothing to be worried over the visit of the commission. The Government has complied with all queries made by the commission earlier and all cooperation will be extended to it for the probe, he said. Tulasi Munda has sought an audience with the commission during the visit. The district administrations of Sundargarh and Keonjhar are now working overtime to prepare answers to the queries of the commission.