India, March 20 -- The Odisha Government collected a penalty of 40.73 crore following enforcement activities aimed at curbing illegal mining of minor minerals across the state.

Informing the Odisha Legislative Assembly about the actions taken to address illegal mining, Steel and Mines Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena stated the penalty was collected after conducting 3,123 raids between April 2024 and February 2025.

Responding to an unstarred query from Jeypore Congress legislator Tara Prasad Bahinipati, the Minister stated in a written reply the highest penalty amount 59,579,292-was collected in the Bhadrak Mining Circle, followed by 38,690,287.05 in the Cuttack Mining Circle.

In response to another query from Barabati-Cuttack Congress l...