Odisha CM, Rabindra Jena, IMFA involved in Rs 20,000 crore chromite loot : Srikant
Reported by Chinmaya Dehury
Bhubaneswar, Mar 20:
Union Minister and Odisha Congress campaign committee chief Srikant Jena today alleged that chromite worth Rs 20,000 crore has been looted from the state due to an unholy nexus between chief minister Naveen Patnaik and owners and managing directors of two mining companies, IMFA and Balasore Alloys.
Jena made this allegation through a press release which happened to coincide with the declaration of BJD candidates for seven Lok Sabha seats including his own constituency Baleswar.
The Minister has brought the allegations against IMFA (owned by BJD MP Baijayant Panda and his family), Balasore Alloys (owned by Pramod Mittal) and its former manager Rabindra Kumar Jena, who has just been named as the BJD candidate for Baleswar Lok Sabha seat.
Jena has demanded a CBI inquiry to prosecute these companies and their owners, managers (read Rabindra Kumar Jena ) for their direct involvement in the scam.
“The chromite loot has been thoroughly exposed by the case registered by Maheswar Panigrahi, Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), in the court of JMFC, Jajpur Road on 12 March this year, under directions from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF),” Jena said in his release.
“In the affidavit, the SDM has clearly mentioned that two companies (Balasore Alloys and IMFA) have grossly violated environmental clearances (ECs) and illegally mined nearly 25 lakh metric tonnes of Chromite over the last 10 years, amounting to more than Rs. 20,000 crores in value,” Jena’s release said.
Jena has further alleged that this mega loot of Rs 20,000 crores could not have happened without the patronage and direct supervision of Naveen Patnaik.
“Otherwise, how could thousands of trucks, every night, carry illegally mined ores to Kendrapara (via Jajpur Road, Korei and Dharmasala) and then onto Paradeep Port and also through Balasore to Kolkata and Haldia port, unless influential local politicians are involved in this illegal clandestine operation,” he quizzed.
Alleging that the chief minister has clear nexus with Baijayant Panda and Rabindra Kumar Jena who was recently inducted into BJD, he has demanded the immediate arrest of the owners and managers of these companies and confiscation of all their properties.
“Also, I demand that the mining operations of the companies involved be stopped with immediate effect and taken over by the state, while also recovering the lost Rs. 20,000 crores and investing them in the development of Jajpur, Kendrapara and Balasore. I also demand that the role of both ruling party and some opposition politicians, who are involved in this illegal chromite-ore transport business, be thoroughly investigated,” Jena said.
All people know how Rabindra Jena acquired so much wealth, though he is intelligent, but he is very corrupt. Mining scams all people want to forget, what an irony. BJD is having lot of money due to mining scam and ponzy scams. bravo odisha for electing corrupt govt again and again
you should go to court. Press meet will not solve the problems.
In Odisha corruption is not an issue, as Congress lacks a good firebrand leader, nonperforming party is always elected now and then. Peoples just get small bribe and vote for BJD and happy
This time BJD mayn’t win or their margin will be narrowed down. Huge money from Mining scam will play all around to win for BJD and as always Odisha will be no.1 poor state…people will realize but it will be too late when even Bihar has progressed a lot in last 10 years, but Odisha is getting poorer and poorer though huge minerals are drawn from the natural resources, but only handful peoples are getting benefited.
No wonder Rabindra Jena got the Balasore ticket for BJD. Poor Arun Dey. He had hoped to get the ticket from the party, but money talks louder than anything. Congrats Balasore voters who will elect another corrupt leader who will do nothing for the city but will continue to loot it.
As Jayanti (above) pointed out Odisha will continue to become and poorer. The poor people will continue to move out from the state to work in in brick kilns in Andhra, as security guards in Bangalore, as masons in Tamil Nadu and as plumbers in Gurgaon and Mumbai.
When will the people of Odisha wake up? When will we stop giving votes for those who pay us Rs 1000, or give a chicken or mutton party?
Every body in Balasore knows about Rabindra Jena how he has accumulated wealth.He has looted mines and no 1 corrupted man of Balasore.
Looks like a well planned smear campaign by Srikant Jena. He seems to be insecure about his chances of winning balasore again.
Srikant Jena has been an absent leader to the people of Balasore. They have been cheated over again and again. Lots of promise but nothing turned into reality and as a result Balasore is lacking behind despite being strategically located.
Yes. we should not vote for this corrupt person who has looted the money of the poor people. How much he will loot again no one can imagine. So we should wake up before voting for the people we know the background of.