The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and the Wildlife Warden office of Odisha's Forest & Environment Department are on a collision course over the proposed elephant corridor in the State. SAIL chairman Chandra Sekhar Verma, who called on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday, tried to end this impasse. According to sources, the proposed elephant corridor, likely to be notified by the State Government shortly, would seriously affect mining at Bolani, Meghathapur, Kiriburu and Goa, four important iron ore raw material sources of the SAIL plants at Rourkela and Durgapur. The SAIL chairman is understood to have pleaded with the Chief Minister to prevail upon the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), which is in no mood to fall in line with the SAIL's reasoning on the proposed elephant corridor. PCCF (WL) and Chief Wild Life Warden of Odisha JD Sharma feels there is "serious presence" of elephants in the Bolani area. "Evidence collected through physical inquiry conducted in the presence of SAIL officials in these areas proved serious presence of elephants in the area by spotting of elephant herds by people, elephant dung, broken trees and photographs of elephant movement there," said sources close to Sharma. The study report prepared by the SAIL, which underplays the presence of elephants in these areas, said sources in the PCCF Wildlife office that they could not accept it as it had not taken into account required evidence.