Orissa Congress to expose 'corruption' in mining lease

Bhubaneswar, Jun 7 (UNI) AICC General Secretary V Narayan Swamy today accused the BJD-BJP government of rampant corruption in allotment of mining leases to the industrial houses.

Addressing newspersons here, Mr Swamy said several industrial houses, including the multinationals, had been favoured by the Naveen Patnaik government in granting mining lease, sacrificing the interest of the state.

He said the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues were indulging in 'corruption' in the name of industrialisation ignoring the plight of the displaced people.

Mr Swamy said the Congress would constitute a committee to frame a Mining policy for the state, which would be submitted to the Centre, with a request to implement it.

''The mining policy should be for the development of the state and not for the exploitation,''he said.

He said the general body meeting of the Pradesh Congress Committee held here today adopted a resolution condemning the state government's move to handover the mining lease to the industrial houses at a throw away price to loot the mineral resources of the state.

The resolution said the way the mining leases were granted to the industrial houses, the mineral resources of the state would be completely exhausted in the next 25 years.

Several companies were also illegally exploiting the mining lease and exporting them to other states and abroad depriving the state government an annual revenue of Rs 1500 crores.

The state government, while granting mining lease to the companies, also ignored the environmental aspects and the interest of the local tribals, the resolution said adding that such a step by the state government would be disasterous for the people.

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