JOIN USA delegation led by the former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes on Tuesday urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take necessary legal action to provide a captive iron-ore mine to the State-owned Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL).
“The company has been finding it difficult to run its operation in the absence of its own mines. Hundreds of people are dependent on the company for their livelihood. Though a mine has been allotted to the company at Ramdurg in Ballari district in the past, it has not been able to mine ore due to some legal problems,” Congress leader Jayaprakash Hegde, who was part of the delegation, said.
He said the KIOCL has not been able to take up mining activities due to a ban imposed by the Supreme Court on mining in the State. The Company can take up mining if the State government files an affidavit in the SC in its favour, he added.