Bhubaneswar/New Delhi, Nov. 5: The mining scam is turning into a millstone around chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s neck as Union minister Srikant Jena today demanded his resignation for not cracking down on illegal mining activities in the state to the tune of Rs 4 lakh crore.

Jena’s attack on Naveen comes even as the BJD government continues to reel from the glare of Justice M.B. Shah Commission currently on a visit to the state.

“The loot has been deliberate, calculated, well-thought out and meticulously planned because of collusion of chief minister Naveen Patnaik with the mining operators. The scam could touch Rs 4 lakh crore,” said Jena, minister of state for chemical and fertilisers, while demanding that Naveen should step down immediately and be charged with criminal conspiracy.

Jena’s diatribe follows imposition of penalty to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore by the state government on 60 mining companies during the past one week. The companies have been penalised for extracting ore in excess of their mining plans in the past 10 years. Sources said there had also been cases of mining beyond the demarcated areas.

According to sources, while a cumulative fine of Rs 58,000 crore was imposed on 27 companies in the Joda mining circle, the largest in the state, another 33 mine owners in the Koida circle have been asked to cough up Rs 12,000 crore. “The penalty covers mining over a period of 10 years since 2000,” said Koida circle deputy director of mines Satyananda Sahoo.

The government move has triggered a controversy over the actual magnitude of the scam with many saying that an honest assessment of mining in all the 14 mining circles of the state would bring many more violations to the fore and the fine amount could well cross Rs 1 lakh crore.

“The state government has prepared a list of 104 mine owners, but only 60 of them have been penalised so far,” said a senior official of the steel and mines department.

Turning the heat on Naveen, Jena said imposition of fines on the mining companies was an admission of guilt by the government as such a humongous scam could not have taken place in a single day.

“By imposing a Rs 58,000-crore fine on 27 mining operators for illegal mining, the Odisha government has admitted to its involvement in this mega loot of the state’s minerals,” the minister said, adding that fines were also an attempt by Naveen to escape legal action.

Stating that such a massive loot of state resources would not have been possible without the chief minister’s collusion, Jena alleged that the third floor of the state secretariat, where Naveen’s office is located, got a “cut” of Rs 500 per tonne iron ore excavated in the state. He described the scam in Odisha larger than the ones that had surfaced in Goa and Karnataka.

“The licence of the errant mining companies should be immediately cancelled and the mine owners should face criminal actions,” he said.

When asked why the Congress leadership in Delhi has not targeted the BJD leader, Jena said Naveen had managed to escape criticism for his sophisticated style of operation.

“Naveen got training in Delhi and he operates in a more sophisticated manner than B.S. Yeddyurappa. Naveen looks innocent. But, he is not that innocent,” Jena said.