Rampant illegal mining wreaking havoc in K’taka: SC panel – TOI – 16.4.11

15,245 Cr Loss To The Nation; Forests Vanish, Reserves To Exhaust In Less Than 20 Years

Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN

New Delhi: Rampant illegal iron ore mining with political and bureaucratic patronage in Karnataka has cheated the exchequer of Rs 15,245 crore since 2003 and pushed the state perilously close to exhausting its mineral reserves, the Supreme Court’s environment panel said on Friday.
    Every single mine in the state operated in breach of the Forest Conservation Act, a report handed over by amicus curiae A D N Rao to a Bench of CJI S H Kapadia and Justices Aftab Alam and K S Radhakrishnan said.
    The 7-volume interim report of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) endorsed Lokayukta Santosh Hegde’s report on illegal mining and said, “After filing of the report of the Lokayukta, practically for twoand-a-half years, no action has been taken by the state of Karnataka to verify the above issues.”
    Of the 266 iron ore mines in Karnataka, 134 are located in forests. “At the present rate of mining, mineral reserves of the state will be exhausted in about 20 years. However, if the figures of illegal mining are added, which is substantial, the resources will get exhausted in a much shorter period and raise a serious question on inter-generation equity,” the report signed by CEC member-secretary M K Jiwrajika. said.
    The CEC had in the last nine years never come across such colossal illegal mining though it had inquired into such activities in Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa.
    It said, “All these cases pale into insignificance when compared to illegal mining on a colossal scale in Karnataka, particularly in Bellary and that too with the active connivance of officials and also public representatives.” The Lokayukta’s report gave examples of all-round illegalities committed by officials, pointing out how satellite images have revealed that the entire forest cover in Ramghad has been wiped out. The CEC said it will soon file its report on other identified issues such as alleged illegal nod for transportation of iron ore from long expired mining leases, illegal transport permits, and de-reservation of substantial areas for mining by private persons.