By Our Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, January 16, 2015

Odisha government on Friday stayed the Odisha government decision of January 5, 2015 to auction all non-coal mines in the state. The stay will remain in force till further orders, the court said.

The court posted the next date of hearing for February 4.

The HC, however, did not take up the issue of ordinance issued by the Union government to go for auction of the minerals.

The court ruling came during the hearing of a petition filed by five mining companies, among them Mesco, Kalinga Minerals and Om Minerals, which stood to be affected by the state government’s decision to auction all non-coal mines, including those that were awaiting second and subsequent renewal.

The state government, in the meanwhile, has decided to raise objections to the ordinance issued by the Central government at the meeting convened by the Centre to discuss the issue on January 19.

“The ordinance would mean a significant loss of revenue for the state government since it would override the state government’s decision to auction mines which are awaiting second and subsequent renewal. So, we have sought the opinion of the Law department on the matter and would present our case at the January 19 meeting based on this opinion,” Steel and Mines minister Prafulla Mallick said.