Bhubaneswar, Feb. 27 -- Bhubaneswar: Even as a whopping over 45 per cent of the Tehsils in Odisha report massive illegal sand mining, the State government has apparently gone pound sand to the problem. Odisha, along with Jharkhand, is the only two major states in the country that have no policy on the sand.

With illegal mining of major minerals in Odisha having been shrunk to a mere 1 case in the first half of 2020-21 from over 45 in 2017-18, courtesy of the SC guidelines post the famous Shah Committee report, illegal sand mining has emerged as a lucrative business for mining mafia in the State.

The role of the Odisha government in putting shackles on the rampant illegal mining looks lackadaisical because, replying in Odisha Assembly re...