Thakurani mines: Odisha govt files objections to JSPL affidavit

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Cuttack, Feb 26:

The Odisha government on Wednesday filed objections to the affidavit submitted by Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) on the dispute over the lease of Thakurani B iron ore mines in Keonjhar district.

A division bench of the High Court comprising Justice Indrajit Mohanty and Justice B N Mohapatra had reserved its judgement after hearing arguments by all parties on the petition filed by JSPL and other intervening petitions in the matter in August last year.

JSPL had filed an affidavit before the division bench of the High Court after the court completed the hearings and reserved its verdict. Following this, the court had directed the state government to file its objections against the affidavit.

The move by JSPL, owned by industrialist-turned-politician Naveen Jindal, was contested by the petitioners.

The court has posted the next hearing to March 4.

According to available case details, Thakurani B iron ore mines was leased out to Sarada Mines, which had later handed over the mines to JSPL. JSPL, which was extracting minerals from the mines, could not take away the extracted mineral from the mine site after the state government cancelled the lease.

The Jindals had challenged the state government’s order in the High Court.

Journalist Jyotiranjan Mohapatra, Keonjhar District Journalists’ Association and social worker Sanjay Pradhan had filed three separate intervening petitions and moved the court seeking to be made parties in the case.

Senior lawyer Sanjit Mohanty, advocates Kshirod Rout, Srinibas Mohanty and Kaliprasad Nanda conducted the case on behalf of different parties in the case.