Date:22/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/22/stories/2008112254180400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Judicial probe into illegal mining sought

Special Correspondent

R.V. Deshpande

Bangalore: The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Friday demanded a high-level probe by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the alleged “looting” of iron ore worth several thousand crores of rupees from the forest land in Tumati and Vithalapura villages in Sandur taluk of Bellary district by an Andhra Pradesh company.

Addressing presspersons, KPCC president R.V. Deshpande, who received the report of a committee appointed by him and led by Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council V.S. Ugrappa, said that it had indicted the miners from the neighbouring State.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Mallikarjun Kharge, KPCC working president D.K. Shivakumar and members of the committee were present.

Mr. Ugrappa and Mr. Deshpande said that the company, registered in the neighbouring State had removed the border stones at the tri-junction point at Malappana Gudi bordering Andhra Pradesh, fixed by the Department of Surveyor General of India in 1974, and encroached upon vast tracts of land measuring around 32 km in length and half a km wide.

The land is at a height of 941 metres above sea level and had very high deposit of iron ore.

They alleged that the company had encroached into the land in the two villages, but the State Government had not taken any action to remove the encroachers, despite complaints by senior officers in the Department of Forests and other departments. It was also alleged that moats were dug up and new border stones installed to hoodwink the government as well as the villagers.

More serious was the fact that the company had not cared to abide by the order of the Karnataka High Court, which directed that no mining should be undertaken, before a joint survey of the disputed land was done. Mr. Ugrappa said that Bellary District Forest Officer P. Rajasekhar had informed the committee that he had complained to the Superintendent of Police, requesting him to stop the illegal mining.

He said that though over 100 officers from different departments had come to the spot on his directions, many tried to dodge the committee from giving proper details about the many irregularities and illegalities detected by it.

Mr. Deshpande said that the Congress would present a memorandum to Governor Rameshwar Thakur urging him to advise the State Government to stop the illegal activities and further loss of revenue to the exchequer. If there was no action by the government, even after these efforts, it would think of other alternative measures to realise its demands, he added.

V. Muniyappa and Amaregowda Bayyapura, MLAs and Basavaraja Rayaraddy and K.Shivamurthy Naik, former ministers, who were members of the Committee attended it.