The Congress legislators from Orissa have sought a CBI inquiry into a mining "scam" in the state, which is believed to much bigger in magnitude than the one involving former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda. They fear the state government would not do justice as it involves senior officials and politicians.

Several Congress MPs and Orissa PCC general secretary Naba Kishore Das, put their fear before the national media here on Thursday and accused the Navin Patnaik government of plundering mineral wealth of the state to the tune of Rs 300,000 crore.

Talking to reporters, Das spoke about how the system was subverted to benefit private mine operators for the past few years. They said for the past several years, many mining leases were not renewed but the operators were allowed to continue on the basis of 'deemed to have been renewed' basis--an ad hoc system under the law. Even in the case of 'deemed to have been leased', such operations required central government's permission if it involved forest land and can not be continued for more than a year. This was not done. There were 155 such mines operating in the state when the scam broke out last year.

Shockingly, the private mining companies were allowed to print the Transit Passes, on the basis of which the state keeps a check on the amount of mining taken place and collects royalty. Allowing the operators this facility led to a free-for-all and nobody knows just how much was mined and the loss to the state exchequer.

The government didn't even set up the required number of weighbridges. There are only 47 weighbridges to cater to nearly 15,000 truckloads of
minerals taken out of various mines every day. Orissa is rich in iron ore, coal, buxite, manganese, chrome and many other minerals.

The Congress legislators alleged that the chief minister had maintained a defeaning silence while the official machinery conducted 'eyewash' of an inquiry. They suspect the big players were being shielded by the state and only minor players had been arrested.

Expressing their lack of confidence in the manner the state government had acted, Das and his colleagues Sanjay Bhoi, MP from Bargad and Amar
Pradhan, MP from Sambalpur, said only a CBI inquiry would unearth the extend of the scam and the real players behind it.