The first file that Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy signed after assuming office — pertaining to mining leases to Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL) and another to SAIL/VSIL in Sandur taluk of Ballari district — has raked up a controversy.
Initially, Mr. Kumaraswamy defended his decision saying that afforestation would be taken up in 808 hectares of land and he also had a word of advice for environmental activists to see the afforestation plan before opposing the leases. However, later, he issued a clarification that clearance was given by the State and the Union Ministry even before he assumed office and that he had just approved an already cleared proposal.
As per the recent order, two new mining leases — one to the KIOCL for mining in 450 hectares (over 1,000 acres) and another to SAIL/VSIL for taking up mining in 60.7 ha (150 acres) in Sandur taluk of Ballari district — have been given. This is in the same district which had caught international attention in the 2000s for indiscriminate and illegal mining and came to be known as the “Ballari republic” presided over by Reddy brothers.
Massive tree cutting
The lease for the KIOCL is for taking up mining in the Devadari village of Sandur taluk and that for SAIL/VISL is for mining in Ramadurga range of the same taluk. According to environmentalists, this would mean the KIOCL would be permitted to fell 99,330 trees in the forests of Swamimalai block in the Kumaraswamy Range (Devadari village) and SAIL/VISL would be permitted to fell 29,400 trees in Ramalai block in the Ramanadurga Range in Sandur taluk of Ballari district.
The Samaj Parivartan Samudaya (SPS) and the National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR), which have fought illegal mining in the past, have demanded that the new mining leases be cancelled.
The contention of S.R. Hiremath, founder-president of the NCPNR and the SPS, is that the decision to award new mining leases comes at a time when the livelihood projects most needed for the development of mining-affected people are yet to get implemented.
Submission to court
“In its order dated March 14, 2024, the Supreme Court said that the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), together with the monitoring committee and aid and advice of the oversight authority, should undertake a complete exercise in the three districts (Ballari, Chitradurga, Tumakuru) and the respective mining leases situated therein and submit a report before the court within four months. The court had said that the CEC should also examine whether a mining cap must be imposed in an area for better compliance and regulation and also mention any new form of regulation to protect the natural resources,” he said.
Such being the situation, permitting the destruction of another forest area will defeat the whole exercise, Mr. Hiremath said, adding that using existing unallotted mines could be an alternative. He said that even if clearances were given by earlier State and Union governments, they should be reviewed.
A contrary view
However, Tapal Ganesh, a miner and activist who earlier fought against illegal mining in Ballari, finds no fault with the new leases.
He told The Hindu that all mineral deposits in Ballari district were in forest areas and mining cannot be permitted anywhere in the district if the reasons to oppose mining at Devadari are extended to other mines also. “If you oppose mining at Devadari for environmental concerns, you will have to oppose mining elsewhere in the district for the same reasons. Both development and environment are equally important. We should have a balanced approach,” he said.
(With inputs from Kumar Buradikatti in Kalaburagi)
