Bhubaneswar: For the Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi-led government, which has spent the past year intensifying its offensive against illegal mining, sand mafias, organized extortion networks, and land grabbers, neighbouring West Bengal’s newly minted BJP Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has blazed a clear trail.

The newly enacted Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, and the Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026 offer something Odisha currently lacks – a single legal framework that treats organised economic crime as a direct threat to public order rather than merely a revenue offence.

While Odisha has strengthened enforcement through raids, technology, financial penalties and criminal investigations, officials often encounter a familiar challenge: lengthy judicial proceedings, repeated bail, weak witness protection and the ability of organised syndicates to quickly resume operations.

The Bengal model attempts to change precisely that equation.

A Shift From Punishment to Prevention

Traditional criminal law acts after an offence has been committed. The West Bengal legislation introduces a preventive approach.

The law allows authorities to place habitual organised offenders under preventive detention for up to one year if their activities are considered prejudicial to public order.

Unlike older state "Goonda Acts", Bengal directly links its provisions with Sections 111 and 112 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 dealing with organised crime and petty organised crime.

This makes it India's first major state-level preventive detention framework built around the country's new criminal code rather than the repealed Indian Penal Code.

For Odisha, which is witnessing increasing investigations into organised mineral theft and interstate smuggling networks, such statutory alignment could potentially provide investigators with a far stronger legal bridge between organised crime charges and preventive administrative action.

Why Odisha's Mining Economy Makes This Debate Relevant

Few states possess as much mineral wealth as Odisha.

From iron ore and manganese to chromite, coal and minor minerals such as sand, mining forms one of the state's biggest economic pillars.

That also makes Odisha particularly vulnerable to organised illegal extraction.

Over the last five years, enforcement agencies have uncovered widespread irregularities involving illegal mining, unauthorised sand lifting, forged transit permits, illegal transportation and revenue leakages.

Government records show thousands of raids against illegal sand mining operations.

Meanwhile, drone surveillance and satellite mapping are increasingly being used to identify mining beyond approved lease boundaries.

Yet enforcement officials privately acknowledge that despite repeated raids, syndicates often regroup because criminal prosecution alone does not permanently disrupt the organisational structure behind these operations.

That is precisely where Bengal's legislation introduces a new philosophy.

Illegal Mining Becomes a Public Order Issue

Perhaps the biggest departure in the Bengal law is its treatment of economic offences.

Rather than viewing illegal mining merely as a violation of mining regulations, the legislation categorises organised illegal sand extraction, resource theft and obstruction of lawful business as anti-social activities affecting public order.

This distinction is legally significant.

Instead of waiting for lengthy economic offence trials, authorities can move administratively against individuals considered to be leading organised syndicates.

For Odisha, where illegal mining has repeatedly attracted scrutiny from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), such an approach could fundamentally alter enforcement strategy.

Recent audit findings have flagged cumulative irregularities and revenue losses running into tens of thousands of crores across major and minor mineral sectors, including alleged grade manipulation, unauthorised extraction and royalty leakages.

The government's own enforcement actions have included suspension of mining officials, criminal investigations and intervention by central agencies in suspected permit forgery and hawala-linked transportation networks.

A preventive framework would shift the focus from individual seizures towards dismantling criminal ecosystems.

A Weapon Against Sand Mafias?

Odisha's sand economy has increasingly emerged as one of the most difficult areas of enforcement.

Illegal extraction often operates through organised local networks involving excavators, transport operators, forged documentation and interstate supply chains.

Despite repeated vehicle seizures and financial penalties, illegal lifting frequently resumes.

During 2024-25 alone, authorities conducted over 4,400 raids and seized nearly 4,700 vehicles allegedly involved in illegal transportation.

Within just the first half of 2025-26, another 2,500-plus raids and close to 3,900 vehicle seizures were reported.

Special police drives, including Operation Sandstorm, have targeted illegal riverbed mining across the Mahanadi, Budhabalanga and Subarnarekha river systems.

The Bengal legislation expands preventive detention to cover illegal sand mining itself.

That means the alleged organisers –not merely truck drivers or machine operators – can potentially be isolated before continuing operations.

For law enforcement agencies, this represents an entirely different policing strategy.

Rather than chasing thousands of trucks every month, authorities gain powers aimed at incapacitating the leadership of organised extraction networks.

Organised Extortion and Syndicate Culture

Another provision that could attract attention in Odisha concerns organised extortion.

The Bengal law specifically includes systematic obstruction of lawful business and organised extortion within the definition of anti-social activity.

Historically, many states have struggled to prosecute entrenched extortion rackets because victims often hesitate to testify.

Preventive detention bypasses many of those immediate evidentiary hurdles by focusing on anticipated threats to public order rather than waiting for completed criminal prosecution.

If adapted carefully, legal experts say similar provisions could potentially strengthen Odisha's campaign against organised collection rackets operating around mining belts, transport corridors and commercial hubs.

A New Tool Against Violent Protests

The second Bengal legislation addresses another challenge.

Instead of merely prosecuting rioters, it creates a statutory claims mechanism allowing authorities to recover compensation for damaged public and private property.

The law goes further.

Liability does not stop with those physically involved in violence.

Organisers, financiers, planners and logistical supporters may also be held financially accountable if a connection is established.

Failure to pay compensation can result in attachment and auction of property.

Odisha has periodically witnessed violent protests involving damage to buses, government buildings, industrial establishments and private assets.

Existing criminal provisions punish offenders, but actual recovery of financial losses remains relatively rare.

A statutory compensation mechanism similar to Bengal's could significantly alter the financial risks associated with violent mobilisation.

Beyond Arrests: Targeting Criminal Ecosystems

Perhaps the most important lesson from Bengal is philosophical rather than procedural.

Traditional policing focuses on offenders.

The new framework focuses on criminal ecosystems.

Illegal mining rarely involves one excavator.

Sand smuggling requires transporters, financiers, forged documentation, political protection and market networks.

Similarly, violent protests often involve planning, funding and logistics extending well beyond those visible on the streets.

By extending legal accountability to organisers and financial backers, Bengal attempts to dismantle entire operational structures instead of isolated participants.

For Odisha's increasingly technology-driven enforcement model, such an approach may complement rather than replace existing criminal investigations.

Could Odisha Become the Next State?

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has repeatedly emphasised zero tolerance towards illegal mining, corruption and organised resource theft.

His government has expanded drone surveillance, digital permit verification, inter-agency coordination and enforcement operations.

Yet the legal architecture remains largely prosecution-centric.

The Bengal model presents an alternative administrative approach where organised economic crime is treated not merely as financial misconduct but as a direct threat to governance, public order and state revenue.

Whether Odisha eventually adopts similar legislation remains entirely speculative.

However, as states increasingly search for stronger tools to dismantle organised criminal syndicates, West Bengal's twin laws are likely to become an important reference point in future policy discussions.

For Odisha, where illegal mining, sand mafias, organised extortion and resource theft continue to challenge both governance and public finances, the debate may no longer be whether tougher legal frameworks are necessary – but what constitutional balance should define them.

Also read: Odisha Govt’s War on the Sand Mafia: From Budhabalanga Crackdown to a Statewide Offensive| Special story