ED uncovers sand mining mafia's fronts in Ganjam: Poor vendors used for illegal operations

Bhubaneswar: Enforcement Directorate (ED), investigating illegal sand mining in Ganjam district, has found that the mining mafia procured licences in the names of poor people, mostly betel leaf shopkeepers, sweet and vegetable vendors, using them as fronts for carrying out extensive unauthorised operations.These leaseholders lacked financial capacity to run a business that demanded substantial investment and were unaware of the legal consequences of violating mining regulations, officers said.“The actual operators seized control of the licenced mines, offering the lessees some commission while conducting extensive illegal mining operations on a massive scale,” an ED source said. The legitimate lessees and illegal operators are being questioned to understand the modus operandi.“Despite mining permits being non-transferable under law, the mafia took over the mines from leaseholders for illegal operation. The syndicate members extracted far more sand and black stone than permitted, selling the minerals in the grey market through cash transactions,” an ED statement said.Officers said forged ‘Y’ forms (transit passes) were used to move illegally mined minerals across Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

The sale proceeds were laundered through cash-intensive businesses, including the country liquor trade.On Friday, ED teams searched 25 locations across Ganjam, targeting properties of syndicate members, including brokers, contractors, liquor traders and musclemen with serious criminal records. The searches led to the recovery of Rs 2.63 crore in unaccounted cash, 10 luxury vehicles, incriminating documents and property records, and mining-related agreements.“The mafia used muscle power to forcibly conduct illegal mining, exploiting and terrorising local communities,” the ED statement said.The ED action follows a CAG performance audit (year ending March 2022) that flagged serious irregularities in the assessment and collection of revenue from minor minerals.The audit pointed to unlawful quarrying without lease deeds or environmental clearance, excess mining beyond approved plans, non-verification of transit permits, and weak enforcement mechanisms, resulting in revenue losses running into hundreds of crores.