SC orders probe into illegal mining in Bellary

PTI

New Delhi, 25 February 2011: The Supreme Court today ordered a probe by its committee into alleged illegal mining in Bellary and other forest areas of Karnataka.

 

A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia asked the apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee to conduct the probe and file its report within six weeks.

 

The court passed the order on an oral mention made by advocate Prashant Bhushan who said that the report of the Karnataka Lokayukta clearly stated that mining activities were being carried not only illegally but also stretched to areas categorised as forest land.

 

"Rampant illegal mining is going on in Karnataka and the same has been recorded by detailed report of Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde," he pleaded before a bench also comprising justices Aftab Alam and K S Radhakrishanan.

 

Earlier, the bench had directed the CEC to probe the Andhra Pradesh side of the Bellary region.

 

The apex court’s direction came over a petition filed by an NGO Samaj Parivartan Samudaya alleging that the governments in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have failed to stop the rampant illegal mining of iron ore.

 

"Failure of the respective states to control the illegal mining has led to large-scale destruction both of forest land as well as non-forest land and adversely affected the livelihood of local people especially the rural poor," the petition alleged.

 

It accused the Centre of having failed to check the menace of illegal mining in Karnataka.

 

"The Union of India through both the Ministry of Environment and Forest and the Ministry of Mines has not exercised enough checks and balances to curtail illegal mining in the two states," the petition submitted.

 

It alleged that illegal mining has resulted in "an encroachment of 1114.8 hectares of forest land in Karnataka". "This problem was recognised by the State of Karnataka when the issues of illegal mining were raised in Legislative Assembly and the Justice UL Bhat Commission of Enquiry was constituted under the Commission of Enquiries Act to inquire into various aspects of illegal mining and certain allegations raised against Government of Karnataka," the NGO submitted.

 

Later, Karnataka Lokayukta also submitted a detailed report on large-scale mining-related irregularities in the State of Karnataka showing "how through the active connivance of miners, officials and politicians, established laws and procedures were given a go by to benefit a few mining companies at the cost of the ecology as well as revenue of the State".

 

It further submitted that the Lokayukta report highlighted that forest area to the extent over 2000 sq kms were made available for mining by private entities despite specific objections by the Forest Department.

 

"The entire illegal mining operation had led to a culture of corruption and a maladministration which threatens the rule of law.

 

"Despite the submission of the Report of the Lokayukta no action seems to have been taken place and the situation on the ground remains the same with illegal mining continuing. In particular no action has been taken against the illegal mining along the inter-state border between Karnataka (Bellary district) and Andhra Pradesh (Anantpur district)," it said.

 

The NGO requested the apex court to pass "order or direction, directing immediate steps be initiated by both the states and the Union of India to stop all mining and other related activities in forest areas of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka which are in violation".

 

Earlier, CEC had filed a report on January 7 this year before the apex court, over the illegal mining in the Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh and had recommended cancellation of mining lease to Karnataka’s powerful Reddy brothers’ firm Obulapuram Mining Company.

 

Slamming the Andhra Pradesh government, the committee had said that OMC had openly flouted various environmental laws in mining operations and it could not have taken place without the connivance of government officials.

 

It had also recommended cancellation of the lease to four different mines spread over 140 acres on grounds of, among others, large-scale illegal mining in Bellary Reserve Forest area.

 

The Reddy brothers include G Janardhan Reddy and G Karunakar Reddy who are ministers of Karnataka.