Mineral transportation in Odisha: Motorcycles, cars and three-wheelers issued e-Passes

Bhubaneswar: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has exposed significant irregularities in the issuance of e-Passes for vehicles transporting minerals in Odisha, pointing to potential illegal mining activities and the lack of robust monitoring mechanisms.

The findings were part of the CAG’s report for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2022, which focused on the performance audit of systems and controls in the assessment and collection of revenue from major minerals in the state.

One of the most alarming revelations was the issuance of e-Passes to vehicles not registered to carry minerals. The audit discovered that 3,697 vehicles, including motorcycles, cars, and three-wheelers, were issued e-Passes, allowing them to transport 67,271.82 metric tons (MT) of minerals during the audit period.

Notably, these vehicles were not registered on the Integrated Mines and Mineral Management System (i3MS), the state’s online portal for monitoring mineral transportation. The CAG flagged this as a serious lapse in monitoring, indicating that unregistered vehicles may have been used for the illegal transportation of unaccounted minerals.

The report also uncovered major issues in the functioning of check gates and weighbridges, which are critical points for verifying mineral-carrying vehicles. Of the 1,18,44,864 e-Passes generated for Mineral Carrying Vehicles (MCVs) that passed through 10 sample check gates during 2017-2022, the audit found that 16,79,220 e-Passes had no corresponding records in the i3MS system. This lack of records meant that a minimum of 1.48 crore MT of iron ore, valued at over ₹1,473.26 crore, was transported without proper end-to-end tracking.

The absence of tracking for these e-Passes raises concerns about the potential for excess extraction and illegal transportation of minerals, in violation of existing regulations. The CAG stressed that these lapses indicate a failure in the monitoring system and called for stronger oversight to prevent illegal mining activities and protect state revenues.

The findings in the CAG report highlight the urgent need for stricter regulatory enforcement and improved technological systems to ensure transparency and accountability in Odisha’s mineral sector.