Rourkela/Berhampur: A day after chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi ordered a vigilance probe into illegal mining operations and smuggling in Hemgir and Koida tehsils of Sundargarh district, mines minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena said on Saturday that those involved in the irregularities would not be spared. After the CM’s order, vigilance formed an eight-member SIT, led by IG (vigilance), Sanjay Kumar Kaushal, to investigate the matter.Jena told the media in Berhampur that stringent action would be taken against those individuals, whoever they may be, involved in the scam. “Our govt is committed to zero tolerance in any form of corruption, particularly in the mining sector. The CM’s order for the vigilance inquiry into the alleged illegal mining in Sundargarh district indicates the govt’s commitment,” he added. On the direction of the CM, Jena and environment and forest minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia visited some of the areas in Sundargarh where illegal mining took place to take stock of the situation on April 18. “We have given our inquiry report to the CM,” he added. During the visit, they noticed massive illegal mining in the forest areas of Hemgir and Koida tehsils. “The exact value of illegal mining will be ascertained after a thorough investigation by the special investigation team (SIT) of vigilance. Initial estimation pegged it at more than Rs 39 crore, including Rs 2.2 crore in coal and over Rs 37 crore in iron and manganese ore,” said Jena.Jena said the vigilance would investigate illegal mining thoroughly and expose those involved in the scam. “It is just the beginning from Sundargarh,” he added. Initial investigation revealed that 9,843 tonnes of coal were extracted illegally from 22 mining pits in Hemgir tehsil. These included the mines in Gopalpur (14), Bhogarakachhar (5) and Ratnasora (3). The value of illegal mining was estimated to be Rs 2.2 crore. An illegal coal storage facility was also discovered by officials in Jamakhani reserve forest. Similarly, officials also found illegal mining of iron and manganese in 50 pits in five villages in Koida tehsil. This involved around 20,000 tonnes of manganese and 1,200 tonnes of iron ore, valued at over Rs 37 crore, sources said. The issue gained political attention, with BJD’s Sundargarh Sadar, Jogesh Singh, and BJP’s Kusum Tete demanding high-level probes. In response, district collector Manoj Satyawan Mahajan also ordered a probe into the illegal operations. Before the ministerial visit, a nine-member enforcement team from the directorate of mines and geology investigated the illegal mining and smuggling in Sundargarh. “I have not received any official communication pertaining to the investigation,” said Surendra Nath Panigrahi, SP, Rourkela vigilance division.On Saturday, MLA Singh said, “I feel the vigilance team would not be able to crack the large-scale illegal mining and smuggling by mining mafia. Therefore, I demand a probe by CBI or STF to yield better results,” he added.