The government will appeal to the Centre to give permission for utilising Rs 18,000 crore collected through the special purpose vehicle constituted for environment reclamation in mining-affected areas, Mines and Geology Minister Murugesh Nirani said on Tuesday.
Nirani was responding to a question in this regard in the Legislative Council.
"I will be visiting Delhi soon and I will impress upon those concerned to allow us to use this money. This will be of use in districts such as Chitradurga, Ballari and Tumakuru, which are affected by mining," he said. The fund had accrued an interest of up to Rs 3,000 crore, he added.
Further, he said the government would look into allowing MLCs to make use of money in the district mineral fund. MLCs pointed out that they were being deprived of the funds and were facing discrimination.
Senior JD(S) leader Basavaraj Horatti urged the government to change regulations, allowing MLCs to utilise these funds. Even though MLCs were part of the district mineral fund trust, they were unable to utilise the funds, the legislators complained.
Leader of the Opposition S R Patil said members of the Upper House were being treated as "second class legislators".
"We are facing harassment," he added.
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