Second Anniversary Of BJP Govt In Odisha: Illegal Sand Mafia Raises Its Ugly Head In The State

The President of India Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scheduled to visit Odisha on June 20,2026 to attend the second anniversary celebrations of BJP government in Odisha. At this critical juncture, Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi is in a dilemma as how to control illegal sand mining mafia who are in cahoots with the politicians across all parties. Reportedly, with the local enforcement agency being weak, no action is being taken at the ground level. So far, the Majhi government has failed to plug the illegal brazen extraction of river sand even after running the state for the last two years. Sand theft is nothing new…it also happened during Naveen Patnaik’s tenure. Why it is making news is because illegal sand mining thefts have spiralled exponentially under the BJP which promised a clean governance. The allegations are that it is thriving under the patronage of a state BJP minister. Apart from sand mafia issue affecting Odisha, another important task also remains unfulfilled as yet for Majhi government- – this pertains to Justice MB Shah Commission computation compensation for illegally extracted minerals in Odisha. Earlier the total initial demand was around Rs 19,174 crore from 131 lease holders. As of 2025 significant amounts remain uncovered with figures cited between Rs 2,700 crore and Rs 3,966 crore still pending to be recovered.