The Reddy brothers received a shot in the arm with the Supreme Court on Monday permitting them to resume mining operations in the undisputed area of its leased mines in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, but said it should not be within 150 metre of the Karnataka border.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justice Deepak Verma and Justice BS Chauhan allowed Reddy brothers owned-Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) to start mining of iron ore in the undisputed area of its leased mines saying that the company has many export obligations.
?We are granting permission in a limited manner. The company will not be allowed to operate beyond the leased area in Andhra Pradesh,? said Justice Verma prior to pronouncing the judgement for the Bench.
OMC will not be permitted to carry out mining operations in the area, which is alleged to have been transgressed towards the Karnataka border by 100-150 meter, the court clarified.
Janardhan Reddy and his brother Karunakara Reddy, both ministers in the Karnataka government, are facing allegations of illegal mining of iron ore by encroaching upon a large chunk of forest land in the area causing huge damage to the environment.
The court in December last year had directed OMC to stall all mining operations due to allegations of encroachment of Bellary reserve forest areas in Karnataka.
The Bench also said that OMC should cooperate whenever the panel headed by a top official of the Survey of India (SoI) would want the company to stop mining operation to facilitate demarcation of the state borders between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh; and the six mines allotted to different mine owners in the Anananthpur district.
Justice Verma writing the verdict for the Bench directed both the states to erect a 10-foot high barbed fencing along the border to prevent the miners from transgressing the Bellary reserve forest.
Earlier, the apex court had appointed a SoI panel to conduct a detailed mapping of the three mines of the Reddy brothers. The SoI submitted its report, saying mining should not be allowed till a fresh demarcation of the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border is complete.
The panel had given its nod to Reddy?s 68.5-hectare iron ore mine, asserting that there was no major encroachment. The panel said out of the 68.5 hectare, only 66 hectare could be mined. The remaining 2.5 hectare were set aside for road construction.
The Bench also directed the SoI to complete the process of demarcating the border between the two sates ? Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh ? within two months.