Panaji, May 26 (TNN): For the last nine months, the directorate of mines and geology (DMG) has not filed a single complaint of illegal mining even though special investigation team (SIT) had specifically asked it to register complaints against mining companies involved in mining scam.

An SIT officer said that not a single complaint has been filed before the SIT despite DMG being asked to file the complaints.

Recently, DMG had informed the SIT, that they will file a specific complaint after examining the matter.

Out of 15 cases investigated by the SIT, three cases have been sent back to respective police stations where FIR was registered, five cases have been chargesheeted and seven cases are under investigation.

The SIT officer said that they will soon complete the investigations in the remaining illegal mining cases. The SIT officer also said that if they don't receive any further complaints, then police department has to decide about the future of SIT.

On June 2014, SIT had asked the mines department to file specific complaints based on the Supreme Court observation while disposing the case.

The SC order had observed that the apex court cannot direct prosecution of the mining lessees on the basis of the findings in the report of the Justice Shah Commission, if they have not been given the opportunity of being heard and to produce evidence in their defence, and not allowed the right to cross-examine and the right to be represented by a legal practitioner before the commission as provided in Sections 8B and 8C respectively of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952.

The mines department had filed the last case in September 2014 against the politically influential mine owner Prafulla Hede for his alleged involvement in illegal mining.

Hede, a former coordinator between the state unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the party's high command, is accused of running a mine in Collem village of Sanguem taluka, between 1988 and 2007, through a lease whose renewal was illegally condoned for delay.