Karnataka’s Congressmen back TDP demand for CBI probe into illegal mining
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, Nov 12: The Bellary mining lords may have won in their dissidence war against Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurapa. But their troubles on account of the alleged illegal mining and other irregularities in Bellary and the border areas of Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh, which have come into sharp focus following the launching of criminal cases in the neighbouring state, are far from over.
Along with the strident demands for a comprehensive CBI probe into the all the illegal mining activities of ministers Gali Janardhana Reddy, Gali Karunakara Reddy and B Sriramulu by Tapal Ganesh of Tumti Mining Company, who has been a thorn in the flesh of the Bellary Reddy brothers since the last several years, and the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh, the state Congress leaders have also joined the chorous to press the Centre.
V S Ugrappa
Opposition Congress leader in the state legislative council V S Ugrappa, who took it upon himself to personally inspect and investigate the alleged illegal mining by the Reddy brothers along the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border a few months ago, on Thursday suspected the involvement of powerful central and state BJP leaders, the chief minister and several state cabinet Ministers in the multi-crore illegal iron mining in Bellary and on the border areas of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into it.
Strongly supporting the criminal cases launched by the Andhra chief minister K Rosaiah against the companies owned by the Bellary Reddy brothers, he claimed that that illegal mining was being carried out with the knowledge of the ruling BJP Government and the BJP central leaders.
"The chief minister, cabinet ministers and top BJP leaders were shareholders in the Oblapuram Mining Company Limited (OMC)Bellary, and Anantpur Mining Company (AMC),’’ he alleged and wanted to know why Yeddyurappa was hesitating to take steps to check illegal mining in the state.
Ugrappa recalled the chief minister’s recent public statement that only a handful people of the state were been exploiting the rich minerals and wondered whether Yeddyurappa was so helpless to check the loot of forest and mineral wealth and alleged that illegal mining had resulted in tax evasion and huge monetary loss to the state exchequer.
To mobilise resources for taking up rehabilitation works in flood affected districts of north Karnataka, the government had decided to levy flood toll charges of Rs 1,000 per tonne of iron-ore about 20 days ago. But the decision has not been implemented so far, he claimed.
The Lokayukta report on illegal mining had also referred to the role of the OMC owned by Infrastructure and tourism minister G Janardhan Reddy, he said pointing out that a search committee of the Congress too had found illegal ``looting’’ of iron ore worth several thousand crores of rupees from the forest land in villages in Sandur taluk of Bellary district by OMC.
When Andhra Pradesh government deputed a team of senior officials of the Mines and Geology Department to probe allegations of mining lease violations against the OMC, Ugrappa wanted to know why the Karnataka government has been yielding to the pressure tactics of the mining companies.
The OMC, which has been mired in controversy, recently was in the limelight yet again after the Anantapur District Forest Officer (DFO), Kallol Biswas, questioned the alleged irregularities and issued show cause notices to it.
The government had introduced the Karnataka State Mineral Policy, 2008 to ensure transparency in granting mining concessions and maximise value addition by encouraging investment in downstream industries.
But there has been no transparency in granting mining licenses and the illegal mining was going on. ``If the chief minister cannot control illegal mining, then he should tender his resignation, ‘’ Ugrappa demanded.