With no action by the Karnataka government against the alleged illegal mining in the Bellary-Hospet-Sandhur belt ?- home to the Reddy brothers with mining interests in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh?Union mines minister BK Handique has made a strong case for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
On March 30, in a letter to Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddiyurappa, Handique enclosed a list of 17 pending references on illegal mining in the state.
The very next day, Handique sent a letter to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee asking for more staff to strengthen the mines regulator arguing that state governments weren?t being able to check irregularities in the sector.
Prominent in Handique?s list to the Karnataka CM is the alleged encroachment by tourism and infrastructure minister G Janardhana Reddy-promoted Obulapuram Mining Company Pvt Ltd (OMC).
The Indian Express, in an investigative series last month covering two states and six districts, had highlighted how rules had been allegedly bent by the Reddy brothers.
The Union mines minister pointed out to Yeddiyurappa that ?not much action appears to have been taken so far and reports of illegal mining continue to be received?.
Over four months back, on November 16, 2009, Handique had first asked Karnataka to set up a special investigation team (SIT) and had even then offered Central assistance. While Andhra Pradesh, where the Reddys have four mining leases agreed to a CBI probe, the BJP government in Karnataka denied any assistance.
The eldest of the brothers G Karunakara Reddy is revenue minister in Karnataka and Somasekhara Reddy is a BJP MLA from Bellary.
Seeking Yeddiyurappa?s personal intervention, Handique said if basic administrative measures are neglected, it can lead to an absolute collapse of the regulatory system at the field level.
Simultaneously, to beef up the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the Central regulator for the sector, Handique has asked finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to quickly fill up 100 posts abolished way back in 2001.
He said the matter has already been discussed with the department of personnel and training.
In his letter to Mukherjee, Handique said: ?Since an extraordinary situation has been created in the wake of increased incidents of illegal mining…I am seeking a favourable decision on the proposal for revival of posts in IBM.?
According to Handique, one of the most common causes of increase in illegal activity was the absence of boundary pillars demarcating leasehold areas. ?The State Revenue Department in non-forest areas and the State Forest Department in the forest areas need to take up the demarcation of boundary of mining leases on a mission mode in order to avoid further aberrations,? he wrote to Yeddiyurappa.
The mines ministry had advised the state to prepare an action plan which included use of modern technology like satellite imagery, GPS for boundary demarcations, use of holograms on transport permits, identifying trigger points like prices of mineral, excess production, etc, to control illegal activities. ?However, it is not yet clear whether the state government has been able to use these to effectively take action,? he noted.