NGO approaches SC for scrapping mining leases

Samaja Parivarthana Samudaya (SPS), the NGO which brought the large-scale illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka out into the open, has approached the Supreme Court seeking directions for scrapping of all mining leases in Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts.

SPS also sought a CBI probe into the criminal conspiracy allegedly hatched by officials and people’s representatives for the massive loot of iron ore in the region.

“The petitioners think it is wholly appropriate that all the mining leases in Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga districts should be cancelled. This is because the notification of areas dereserved for mining was done arbitrarily and without application of mind. The issue of mining leases was done on extraneous considerations based on payment of illegal gratification. No permission was taken from the apex court for diverting land for non-forest purpose,” it said.

In a fresh interim application filed by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Pranav Sachdeva, the organisation expressed its disagreement with the recommendations of the apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on segregating the mining leases into A, B and C categories on the basis of violations allegedly committed by the miners and favouring conditional extraction of iron ore.

“The criminal intent is common to all offenders, and therefore, the categorisation and differential treatment of small and large mining entities is uncalled-for. It is just and necessary that the amount of illegally extracted ore be determined by sophisticated techniques such as laser mapping that is being employed by the CBI on a case-by-case basis, and disgorgement of the illegal gains at five times the market value be levied on each offending mine lease holder, irrespective of the percentage of violation,” it said.

The environmental degradation has been so acute that in the prevailing circumstances, no mining, even legal, could take place at least for the next decade until the green cover was restored in areas under encroachment, and greenery was established in safety zones, the application contended.

The petitioners are of the view that the recommendations made by the CEC in its latest report fell short of the goals of intergenerational equity, conservation of mineral resources, and protection of forests.

 Some of the recommendations were made with an aim to facilitate the resumption of mining operations on a significant scale, which went against the order of the apex court passed on July 29 last year, it alleged.

The NGO also disagreed with the fixing of ceiling of 25-million metric tonnes for Bellary and five-million metric tonnes for Chitradurga and Tumkur for extraction of iron ore.

“Taking the total mineral reserves of Bellary at one-billion metric tonnes, at the ceiling suggested by the CEC, the entire mineral reserves of Bellary will be exhausted in a mere 40 years, a period which barely extends up to the next generation,” it pointed out.

The NGO also urged the court to declare the State government’s decision to dereserve over 11000 sq km of land for private mining as void, and direct that all fresh leases would be granted through auction only. It also demanded lowering of the ceiling to 15-million metric tonnes in the three districts and fixing the royalty to at least 40 per cent of the market price of iron ore.