New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Odisha government for its failure to recover compensation to the tune of Rs 2,700 crore from mining leaseholders involved in illegal mining of iron and manganese ore without obtaining environmental clearance.

A Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice AG Masih was hearing a plea pertaining to the non-recovery of dues that were imposed pursuant to a Supreme Court verdict. ADVERTISEMENT

Notably, the Apex Court in its judgement in 2017 had directed the State to recover compensation from defaulting leaseholders operating in Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Mayurbhanj districts.

During the hearing, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, Common Cause, alleged that the State authorities appeared to be “in collusi

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