Industry Odisha Bureau, April 3: The Odisha government has collected heavy fines of more than Rs 100 crore from people indulged in illegal mining and unauthorised transportation of minerals.
According to official data, the Steel and Mines Department has conducted enforcements against illegal transportation of mines and collected a penalty of Rs 48.16 crore during the financial year 2024-25 while another Rs 52.42 crore during the last financial year 2025-26.
During the financial year 2024-25, the State Government has registered 1062 FIRs against the persons and seized 4676 vehicles involved in the illegal transportation of mines.
Similarly, 1421 police cases were filed and 5045 vehicles seized during April to February of FY 2025-26.
Highest Rs 14.92 crore fine collected in Balasore district and Rs 7.21 crore from Mayurbhanj district. The other major districts where illegal mining is reported are—Jajpur, Nabarangpur, Sundergarh, Rayagada, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Koraput, Keonjhra, Khurda and Cuttack.
The State Government has taken concrete steps to curb illegal mining and transportation of minerals in the state by the enactment of new OMPTS Rules, 2025.
The said Rule has repealed the OMPTS Rules, 2007 and has brought automation in grade, size and quality estimation and Geo-fenced based transportation without human intervention. Entire mineral transaction has been made mandatory on digital platforms i.e. i3MS, officials said.
Direct bulk sampling and analysis through cross belt analyzer, far spot grade determination, AI camera for determination of size of ore, automated weighbridge for determination of quantity, automated accessed control and boom barrier based single entry and exit point of mines to restrict un-authorized despatch etc. has been newly introduced ensuring zero human interference and all transactions are being envisaged on the digital platform, they said.
The State Government has formed State Level Enforcement Squad (SLES) at the State Level, District Level Task Force (DLTF) at District Level and Internal Mining Squad at Circle Level to prevent any illegal mining activities, he informed.
The Government has also implemented the i3MS System for dispatch of minerals to prevent any illegal transportation of minerals in the State, the officials informed.
Besides, frequent and regular en-route checking are being conducted by the DLTF and SLES to improve transparency of mineral movement, they added.
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