Bhubaneswar, Dec. 20: There seems to be no breather for Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

After Orissa High Court rapped his government over the Tangarpada chromite mining deal last month, a central team is now in the state to probe the alleged violation of forest laws in Kalahandi district by Vedanta Alumina.

A two-member central team comprising former additional director-general (forests and wildlife) S.C. Sharma and assistant inspector-general (wildlife) in the ministry of environment and forests, Sanjiv Chaddha, today arrived in Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district for an on-the-spot probe of the alleged violation of forest laws.

Vedanta Alumina had signed a memorandum of understanding with the state-run Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) to set up a plant there.

The team will return to Delhi on December 23 and submit its report to the special committee of the Supreme Court, which deals with environmental issues.

Last month, a delegation led by AICC general secretary and Orissa in-charge Digvijay Singh met the Union environment and forests minister and urged him to send an inspection team to the state.

Opposition leaders in the state have alleged that the alumina project will affect 580.8 hectares of forest land in Kalahandi. They contended that the agreement also reversed the earlier policy of the state government not to hand over bauxite deposits in the Karlapat reserves since it was a notified wildlife sanctuary and home to rare animals.

A PIL was later filed in Orissa High Court by a Kalahandi lawyer who alleged that norms of the Forest Conservation Act had been violated by the company.

Lawyer Daitari Pradhan had sought judicial intervention for an embargo on the bauxite mines proposed in the protected forest area.

Today, Assembly Speaker Maheswar Mohanty allowed a discussion on the issue, which will take place tomorrow. Opposition leaders earlier staged a walkout demanding a special discussion on the Vedanta issue.