Keonjhar: Sundargarh district administration officials detected illegal mining at a mine under Koira tehsil in the Koira mining sector.Based on a joint inspection, Koira tehsildar submitted a detailed report on April 9, to the additional district magistrate, Sundargarh, highlighting violations of the Forest Conservation Act. Copies of the report were also sent to the divisional forest officer, Banei, and the deputy director of mines, Koira, for necessary action.Sources said the violations first came to light when the forest department, during an inspection last year, found mining activity outside the permitted lease area and flagged the matter to the mining department. Following the complaint, mining operations and mineral transportation were halted a few months ago.Tehsildar Koira Nirmal Biswal said, “The joint probe report has been submitted to the additional district magistrate, Sundargarh, and a copy has been given to the deputy director of mines, Koira. The DDM will take action against violation.”ADM (revenue) Abhimanyu Majhi said, “I have got the report. Illegal mining activities have been detected. Action will be taken under the Forest Conservation Act and fines will be imposed on the lessee.”However, the mining leaseholder denied the allegations.Nimananda Pradhan, a senior officer of the company, claimed all activities were undertaken within the approved lease area. “Mining has been carried out as per the ORSAC and DGPS maps. No boundary pillar has been shifted and no work has been carried out outside the lease area. We are being harassed intentionally. We have not yet received the joint inquiry report. After receiving it, we will decide our next course of action,” he said.According to official records, Sanindpur Iron and Manganese ore Mines has a lease area of 70.917 hectares in the name of M/s Grewal Minerals and Metals. On Aug 11, 2025, the DFO of Banei detected illegal mining and informed the mining department. Acting on the complaint, the Koira DDM ordered a DGPS survey of the lease area.Subsequently, a fresh survey was conducted on Sept 19, 2025, with officials from the forest department and revenue administration. However, the DFO objected to the ORSAC-approved survey map, citing discrepancies with the previously approved Differential Range Plan (DRP). A separate committee was then formed, which inspected the boundary on December 31, 2025.The inspection revealed that mining activity had extended over 1.756 hectares beyond the lease boundary. Further verification on January 8, 2026, found that original boundary pillars had been disturbed and mineral dumps were located outside the lease area in DLC forest land. Following these findings, the mining department stopped mining operations and transportation.Locals, however, alleged that while illegal mining was established, no case was registered against the leaseholder under Section 21(5) of the MMDR Act, 1957, and no penalty was recovered.On April 9, 2026, the Koira tehsildar formally informed the Sundargarh ADM, enclosing the joint investigation committee report detailing violations of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. Sources alleged the illegal mining not only caused revenue losses running into crores of rupees but also severely impacted the local ecology.
