Bhubaneswar: Amidst allegations of illegal coal mining and smuggling in Sundargarh district, the State government on Friday dispatched two ministers to conduct an on-the-spot inquiry. Steel and Mines Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena and Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia inspected the sites of alleged illegal coal mining within the Gopalpur forest range under Hemgir block.

The two ministers visited around a dozen coal mines and held discussions with the district mining and forest department officials. It has been alleged that illegal mining operations are underway in dense forest areas, including Gopalpur, Telendihi, Ratansara, Jamkani and Bhogra-Kachhar.

“We visited certain coal mining areas. Our government believes in works and words. The government will certainly take action against the illegal coal mining activities,” Bibhuti Jena told reporters. Singhkhuntia said they will apprise the Chief Minister of the ground situation.

Deputy Speaker and Talsara MLA Bhabani Shankar Bhoi earlier this month sought Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s intervention to stop alleged loot of mineral resources in the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district. Following this, Sundargarh District Collector Manoj Satyawan Mahajan ordered raids on local factories and coal washeries. A nine-member enforcement team from the Mines department had also seized around 10,000 tonnes of illegally mined coal. Western Range IG Brijesh Rai said police have registered three cases in this regard. “Action will be taken based on the opinion of the experts as the mining activities involve technical aspects also,” he added.

Earlier, on April 7, senior BJP leader and former Sundargarh MLA Kusum Tete had demanded a

high-level probe into rampant coal smuggling from opencast coal mines in Hemgir block. Tete,through a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, had drawn his attention towards the rampant smuggling of coal from Sundargarh to outside the State.