Yet to figure out the extent of the multi-crore mining scam, Orissa Steel and Mines department has announced a reward for whistleblowers among general public and government officials who provide information on illegal mining.

The department, which is now probing illegal iron, manganese and chromite mines in Orissa, along with the vigilance department has come out with a notification under which general public would be given 4 per cent of the total worth of seized material if their information leads to seizure, while government officials who do so will be given 1 per cent worth of the seizure.

Steel and Mines secretary Ashok Dalwai said the notification is a way to co-opt the general public to detect the ills in the mining department. “People of the department may be conniving with those plundering the state’s mineral resources. The new scheme will provide an incentive to the people to point out theft of mineral resources,” said Dalwai.

Dalwai added that the name of the informant would not be revealed. However, they would be rewarded only if the information leads to seizure.

The state vigilance on Friday raided the mines of Rungta Mines Limited (RML) in Joda area of Keonjhar district and detected massive irregularities.