Bhubaneswar: Union Minister Srikant Jena writes letter to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik demanding non-renewal of mining leases of private companies. Jena said this at a press conference in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.

Jena demanded exclusive rights to Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) over minerals. "The scam relates to renewal of licenses. Official documents show of the 107 iron ore mines in Odisha, 83 are operating by using 'deemed to' clause of the mining law," said Jena. He termed the mining scam in Odisha as much bigger than the ones in Goa and Karnataka.

He claimed that nearly 50 crore tons of iron ore have been extracted in Odisha since 2003-04, he said a handful of mine owners have raked in profits worth over Rs two lakh crore during the period.