Bangalore, 07 August 2011: With the impending visit of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court to Megalahalli, Bheemasamudra and other areas in Chitradurga district, workers are involved in plucking out whole chunks of grass, which are then transported in lorries to the hills to cover up the sides that have been dug up for iron ore.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the plea of private miners to lift its ban on mining in Bellary district of Karnataka saying the "profit was not important but the balancing of the right of clean environment is". A special forest bench headed by the Chief Justice SH Kapadia rejected the plea of the Federation of Indian Mining Industries (FIMI) and asked them to co-operate with the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) which will prepare a report by conducting a macro-level Environment Impact Assessment.