Bhubaneswar, July 12: A four-member team of the Centre Empowered Committee arrived here today on a four-day visit, during which it would undertake field trips to the mining belts of Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts.

Sources said the team, led by P.V. Jayakrishna, would make spot verifications in 11 iron ore and manganese mines in Jida and Koira mining sectors beginning tomorrow. Other members of the team, which left Bhubaneswar for Keonjhar in the afternoon, include M.K. Muthu, Mahindra Vyas and Saroj Kumar Patnaik.

The focus will be on alleged violation of forest and mining laws, including excessive mining and mining outside the lease areas by the leaseholders. The leaseholders have been asked to be present with relevant documents for verification during the team’s field visit.

This is the committee’s second visit to the state in the past one month. It assumes significance as its outcome would be reflected in the panel’s final report to the Supreme Court on the mining issue. The last visit of the committee in June had followed a Supreme Court order suspending operation of 26 mines in the state engaged in excavations on the strength of the controversial “deemed extension” clause under Section 24-A (6) of the Mineral Concession Rules (MCR), 1960.

The court in its interim order had maintained that such mines could not continue operation without the express orders of the state government. The state government had then passed an order for resumption of operations in eight mines. The visit has evoked a lot of interest in the state where a multi-crore mining scam broke out in 2009. The state vigilance department had probed into the scandal, and later, the Justice M.B. Shah Commission took over the investigation and recommended a CBI inquiry.

The team, which is expected to submit its final report on illegal mining in the Supreme Court, had held several meetings with state government officials during its earlier visits. It had also interacted with mining lessees. “The team, during its visit to Joda and Koira circles, would verify allegations of violation of mining and forest laws keeping in mind the issues raised by the Justice M.B. Shah Commission,” said an official.

Director of mines Deepak Mohanty said the team would undertake field visit till July 14 in the presence of state government officials and mining leaseholders. The team members will then interact with state officials in Bhubaneswar before winding up their visit. The visit is being seen as a follow-up on the Shah commission report, which caused much embarrassment to the state government.