The committee headed by development commissioner U N Behera has recommended extension of lease deed of eight captive mines till March 31, 2030 and 18 non-captive mines till March 31, 2020. Among the captive mines, seven belong to Tata steel and one to ACC Cement, a source said.
The 26 mines include 22 iron ore and manganese mines closed following a Supreme Court order on May 16, last year. The rest are the dolomite and limestone mines of Tata, V K Lal and ACC Cement which were earlier closed by the state government.
The apex court had asked the state government to ensure that the mines could be reopened after getting necessary clearances within six months. In June last year, the state government granted express order (a provision under the MMDR Act) to eight mines. Of these, lease deeds of three mines of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and one of Odisha Mining Corporation were extended.
As the state government had pleaded that scrutiny of the other 22 cases needed more time in the wake of the MMDR ordinance, the apex court allowed the state government two months time.
Director of mines Deepak Mohanty said, "Since there was no violation of lease conditions against these mines, the committee found them eligible for lease extension."
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