Two Mining Officials Suspended in Odisha Over Alleged Illegal Sand Mining

Bhubaneswar: In a major crackdown on illegal sand mining, the Odisha government has suspended two senior mining officials for their alleged involvement in large-scale sand theft. Deputy Director of Mines (DDM), Jajpur Circle, Jay Prakash Nayak, and Jagatsinghpur District Mining Officer (DMO), Satish Kumar Tarai, were placed under suspension on the orders of Steel and Mines Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena.

Issuing the suspension orders, the minister reiterated the state government’s zero-tolerance policy towards illegal mining activities and warned that strict action would be taken against any officials found involved in or facilitating such practices. He added that the statewide drive against sand theft would continue.

The action follows the issuance of show-cause notices to both officials by Jagatsinghpur Collector J. Sonal on November 27 for their alleged failure to conduct regular raids on sand quarries under their jurisdictions.

Subsequently, based on an FIR lodged by Jagatsinghpur Sub-Collector Prasant Kumar Tarai after raids at two sand quarries at Kilipal under Tirtol tehsil and Jaipur on the Mahanadi riverbed in Raghunathpur, Jagatsinghpur police registered a case against the two officials. The case also names two leaseholders, Saroj Mohanty and Bansidhar Swain.

The accused have been booked under Sections 303(2), 112(2) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 51 of the Odisha Minor Mineral Concession (OMMC) Rules for their alleged role in illegal sand mining across multiple sairat sources, causing substantial loss to the state exchequer.