Decision on KIOCL mining lease today

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, JULY 18. The Chief Minister, Mr. S.M. Krishna, on Wednesday assured a delegation led by the Jnanpith Award winner, Dr. U.R. Ananthamurthy, which called on him, that the Cabinet, which was scheduled to meet on Thursday, would take a final decision on the issue of renewing the mining lease of the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL), which would expire on July 24.

He assured the delegation of environmentalists, legislators and others that the Government would have to take various factors into consideration before it decided to renew the mining lease. He said that the Union Government had a big stake in the issue, and that the Supreme Court's intervention was also expected. He told Dr. Ananthamurthy and other members of the delegation that the State Government did not entertain the request earlier made by the KIOCL management for expansion of the mining operations in the Kudremukh region.

Dr. Ananthamurthy and others forcefully pleaded with the Chief Minister not to renew the mining lease, as 30 years of continuous mining operations in the eco-sensitive Kudremukh region in the Western Ghats, which was rich in rare fauna and flora, had denuded the forest and caused immense damage to the eco-system of the region. The delegation impressed on the Chief Minister that a ``momentous and historic decision'' not to renewing the mining lease, resisting pressure from any quarters, would effectively arrest the havoc already wrought on the region.

The delegation included the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Mr. K.H. Srinivasa, Mr. B.L. Shankar, Mr. K.B. Mallikarjun, Mr. A. Jnanendra and Mr. Visvesvara Hegde. The former State Government official, Mr. Yellappa Reddy, and the noted environmentalist, Mr. Ullas Karanth, were also part of the delegation. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Krishna said on Wednesday that a decision on whether or not to permit KIOCL to continue mining would be taken by the Government in the light of the experience so far and the public reaction.

Mr. Krishna, who was replying to points raised by the Opposition members expressing concern at the destruction of flora and fauna in the Kudremukh area, said the Cabinet had rejected the company's request for the allotment of more land for mining.

Pointing out that mining was permitted by the Government about 30 years ago in the background of the need for industrialisation of the State, Mr. Krishna said the time had come to assess the damage to the Western Ghats. Even in the past, persons with a concern for the environment had warned against mining on the ground that it would affect not only the particular area, but the entire Western Ghats, he added.

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Section  : Southern States
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