Bhubaneswar, Sept. 18: The Naveen Patnaik government is now drawing the Opposition’s fire over the mining scam all over again after being attacked for recommending coal blocks in favour of private companies.

The man leading the charge against him is Union minister of chemicals and fertilisers Srikant Jena, a constant thorn in Naveen’s side.

The MP from Balasore today hit out at Naveen, alleging that minerals worth over Rs 4 lakh crore had been looted from the state in the past decade of his rule.

The blow from Jena comes at a time when the Odisha government is under fire over the issue of recommendation of coal blocks to private companies with the threat of a CBI inquiry looming large. The chief minister is leaving for New Delhi tomorrow on a five-day trip.

“Nearly 100 crore tonnes of iron ore have been extracted during the mining boom that began 2003-04 onwards. Nearly Rs 4 lakh crore have been looted over the years with the knowledge of the government,” alleged Jena, citing figures.

The minister said the scam was obvious as mines continue to operate in the state even though not a single mining lease in the state has been renewed over the years.

“All mines are being operated under the ‘deemed extension’ clause according to which a mine owner can operate a mine without renewing his licence,” he said, implying that the state government could recommend the cancellation of such licences.

Under the Mines and Minerals and Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, a licence for a lease should be renewed if the conditions linked it are met. “Since licences have not been renewed, things are obviously not in order,” rued Jena.

Alleging a nexus between the state government and the mines operators, Jena said the deliberate silence of the government on the renewal of licences, and letting the private companies operate on “deemed clause” basis allows them to swindle minerals.

Official sources said that out of the 107 iron ore mines in the state, 83 were operating by using “deemed to” clause of the mining laws. Similarly, of the seven bauxite mines, five have applied for renewal of their agreements and are functioning. In the case of manganese, 53 of 71 mines are in operation with renewal of their leases pending, he said.

Stating that a lot of damage had already been done to the state exchequer, Jena suggested the state-run Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) should be given exclusive mining rights over iron ore, manganese, bauxite and chromite and it should be allowed to sell the extracted ore at the market price.

The minister said the interests of Odisha would be better served if the chief minister recommended cancellation of mining leases granted to private operators and their transfer to OMC.