Bhubaneswar, Jan. 24 -- The Odisha government has acknowledged the widespread irregularities that occurred in the auction of mining of ore in the State that led to the loss of thousands of crores of rupees to the exchequer, said BJP leader and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi on Tuesday.

Addressing a presser in Bhubaneswar today, Sarangi said that the State government in a letter to the Ministry of Coal and Mines has admitted that leaseholders reported high-grade iron ore as low-grade after extraction.

Citing a letter she received from Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi in this regard, the IAS-turned-politician said the State government has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the director of mines to inquiry into ...